WO2024114062A1

WO2024114062A1 - Multi-way valve, thermal management system, and vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2024114062A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/121100
Authority: WO
Inventors: 于昊楠
Original assignee: 安徽威灵汽车部件有限公司; 安庆威灵汽车部件有限公司; 广东威灵汽车部件有限公司
Priority date: 2022-11-29
Filing date: 2023-09-25
Publication date: 2024-06-06
Also published as: CN118110815A

Abstract

A multi-way valve (1000), comprising a housing (100), a valve core (200), a sealing member (300) and a driver (400). The housing (100) is provided with a mounting cavity (110), and an outer peripheral wall of the housing (100) is provided with a plurality of through holes (120) in communication with the mounting cavity (110); the valve core (200) is rotatably arranged in the mounting cavity (110), one end of the valve core is provided with a rotating shaft (210), and an inner cavity (230) is arranged in the valve core; a plurality of flow passages (220) are arranged in the inner cavity (230), and each flow passage (220) is provided with at least two passage openings (221) in communication with the through holes (120); the sealing member (300) is arranged on an inner peripheral wall of the mounting cavity (110) and is positioned between the through holes (120) and the valve core (200), and is provided with a plurality of conduction openings (310) in one-to-one correspondence with the through holes (120); and the driver (400) is connected to one end of the housing (100), and is connected to the rotating shaft (210) so as to drive the valve core (200) to rotate. Further disclosed are a thermal management system and a vehicle.

Description

Multi-way valve, thermal management system and vehicle

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202211509365.8, filed on November 29, 2022, and entitled “Multi-way valve, thermal management system and vehicle”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the technical field of control valves, and in particular to a multi-way valve, a thermal management system and a vehicle.

Background technique

In the related art, a seal is provided between the valve core and the housing inside the multi-way valve to seal the flow channel between the valve core and the housing. However, under uneven stress conditions, additional internal stress will be generated inside the seal, especially under the action of long-term compression and temperature change, which will easily cause creep and cold flow, reduce the service life of the seal, thereby causing a decrease in sealing performance and affecting the reliability of the multi-way valve.

Summary of the invention

The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present application proposes a multi-way valve, and a thermal management system and a vehicle including the multi-way valve.

The multi-way valve according to the first aspect of the present application comprises: a shell, which is provided with an installation cavity, and the outer peripheral wall of the shell is provided with a plurality of through holes connected to the installation cavity; a valve core, which is rotatably arranged in the installation cavity, and one end of the valve core is provided with a rotating shaft, and the valve core is provided with an inner cavity, and the inner cavity is provided with a plurality of flow channels, and the plurality of flow channels are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the valve core, and each of the flow channels is provided with at least two flow channel openings, and at least two of the flow channel openings are arranged at intervals on the outer peripheral wall of the valve core, and the flow channel openings are used to communicate with the through hole; a sealing member is arranged on the inner peripheral wall of the installation cavity and is located between the through hole and the valve core, and the sealing member is provided with a plurality of conducting openings, and the conducting openings are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the through holes; the sealing member A plurality of convex ribs are provided on a side of the component facing the through hole, the convex ribs are arranged around the outer peripheral edge of each of the conducting openings, and the plurality of convex ribs are respectively in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the mounting cavity; an arcuate surface is provided at the end of the convex rib away from the sealing component, the side wall on one side of the convex rib is a first wall surface, and the side wall away from the first wall surface is a second wall surface, the first wall surface is arranged parallel to the second wall surface, and the first wall surface and the second wall surface are connected through the arcuate surface; and a driver is connected to one end of the shell and to the rotating shaft to drive the valve core to rotate, and when the valve core rotates, the flow channel openings at the flow channels at different positions along the circumference of the valve core can be connected with at least two of the through holes.

According to some embodiments of the present application, at least two convex ribs are provided between adjacent conducting openings, the at least two convex ribs are arranged at intervals, and the spacing between adjacent convex ribs is greater than 1 mm.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the inner circumferential wall of the installation cavity is provided with an installation groove matching the seal, a plurality of through holes are arranged at intervals on the bottom wall of the installation groove, the outer circumferential wall of the seal abuts against the inner circumferential wall of the installation groove, and the rib abuts against the bottom wall of the installation groove.

According to some embodiments of the present application, a side surface of the sealing member facing the valve core is an arc surface, the arc surface abuts against an outer peripheral wall of the valve core, and a central angle of the arc surface along the circumference of the valve core is less than 180°.

According to some embodiments of the present application, a protective layer made of a wear-resistant material is provided on a side of the seal facing the valve core, the protective layer covers the surface of the seal, and the protective layer is provided with avoidance holes corresponding one-to-one to the conducting ports.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the sealing member is made of an elastic material, and the rib and the sealing member are an integrally formed structure.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the outer peripheral wall of the valve core is provided with a plurality of first protrusions and a plurality of second protrusions, the plurality of first protrusions are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the valve core, and the plurality of first protrusions extend along the circumferential direction of the valve core; the plurality of second protrusions are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the valve core, and the plurality of second protrusions extend along the axial direction of the valve core, the first protrusions and the second protrusions are cooperated to surround the outer peripheral edge of the flow channel opening, and the first protrusions and the second protrusions are respectively abutted against the inner peripheral wall of the mounting cavity.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the plurality of through holes are arranged along the circumferential direction of the shell to form a plurality of columns, the plurality of columns of through holes are arranged along the axial direction of the shell to form a plurality of rows, and the number of columns of the through holes is less than the number of rows.

According to some embodiments of the present application, a plurality of partitions are provided in the inner cavity along the circumference of the valve core, the plurality of partitions extend along the axial direction of the valve core, adjacent partitions cooperate with the outer peripheral wall of the valve core to define the flow channel, and the plurality of flow channels extend along the axial direction of the valve core respectively.

According to some embodiments of the present application, at least six through holes are provided, and at least six through holes are arranged in two columns along the circumference of the valve core and in multiple rows along the axial direction of the valve core. At least four flow channels are provided, and the four flow channels are respectively a first flow channel, a second flow channel, a third flow channel and a fourth flow channel. Along the axial direction of the valve core, the first flow channel is provided with two first flow channel openings arranged at intervals, the second flow channel is provided with two second flow channel openings arranged at intervals, and the third flow channel is provided with three third flow channel openings, wherein two of the third flow channel openings are arranged along the axial direction of the valve core, and the other third flow channel opening is spaced from the second flow channel opening along the axial direction of the valve core, and the fourth flow channel is provided with seven fourth flow channel openings; the driver drives the valve core to rotate, so that the multi-way valve includes at least six states:

In a first state, two of the first flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, two of the second flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state;

In the second state, two of the second flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, three of the third flow channel openings are connected to three of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state;

In the third state, two of the third flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, two of the fourth flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state;

In a fourth state, the three fourth flow channel openings are connected to three of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state; and

In the fifth state, the four fourth flow channel openings are connected to four of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state.

In the sixth state, two of the first flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, two of the fourth flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state.

According to the second aspect of the present application, the thermal management system includes: a manifold having a plurality of channels for circulating a medium; the multi-way valve described in the first aspect, wherein the multi-way valve is arranged on the manifold, the plurality of channels are respectively connected to the plurality of through holes, and the driver drives the valve core to rotate to control the thermal management system to switch the working mode.

A vehicle according to an embodiment of the third aspect of the present application includes the thermal management system of the embodiment of the second aspect described above.

Other features and advantages of the present application will be set forth in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the description, or may be understood by practicing the present application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a multi-way valve according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the bottom structure of a multi-way valve according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a multi-way valve according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is an enlarged schematic diagram of the structure at A in FIG3 ;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a valve core in a first state viewing angle according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a valve core according to an embodiment of the present application;

7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a valve core at a second flow channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a valve core in a second state viewing angle according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a valve core in a third state according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a valve core in a fourth state according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a valve core in a fourth state from another perspective according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a valve core in a fifth state according to an embodiment of the present application; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a valve core in a sixth state perspective according to an embodiment of the present application.

Reference numerals:

Housing 100; mounting cavity 110; mounting opening 111; mounting groove 112; through hole 120; mounting seat 130; valve cover 140;

Valve core 200; first switching area 201; second switching area 202; third switching area 203; fourth switching area 204; fifth switching area 205; sixth switching area 206; seventh switching area 207; first protrusion 208; second protrusion 209; rotating shaft 210; flow channel 220; flow channel opening 221; inner cavity 230; partition plate 231; first flow channel 240; first flow channel opening 241; second flow channel 250; second flow channel opening 251; third flow channel 260; third flow channel opening 261; fourth flow channel 270; fourth flow channel opening 271; closed opening 280;

Sealing member 300; conducting opening 310; convex rib 320; arc surface 321; first wall surface 322; second wall surface 323;

Driver 400;

Multi-way valve 1000.

Detailed ways

The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application, and cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by terms such as axial and circumferential are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be understood as limitations on the present application.

In the description of this application, if there is a description of first or second, it is only for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

In the description of this application, it should be noted that terms such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on the specific content of the technical solution.

The technical solution of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments.

In the related art, a multi-way valve usually adopts a seal to seal the flow channel between the valve core and the valve housing. When installed into the housing, it needs to be pre-rolled into a C-shaped structure in an annular shape, then installed into the interior of the housing, and then inserted through the valve core to achieve the sealing of the columnar valve. The seal is difficult to assemble and is not conducive to automated assembly. In particular, during the annular pre-rolling process, the deformation of the seal on one side in contact with the valve core and the other side in contact with the housing are inconsistent, which can easily lead to misalignment and deformation of the inside and outside of the seal, resulting in difficulty in assembling the seal and poor sealing, which in turn leads to internal leakage and failure of the electronic multi-way water valve, causing internal mixing of the cooling medium and other problems; secondly, when the seal is under uneven deformation and stress, additional internal stress will be generated inside the seal, especially under the action of long-term compression and temperature change, creep and cold flow will occur, reducing the service life of the seal.

The multi-way valve 1000 provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the thermal management system of a vehicle, which can improve the pressure deformation resistance of the seal 300 and enhance the sealing performance. It plays an effective sealing role between each through hole 120 and the corresponding conducting port 310, thereby preventing the sealing failure of a single flow channel from affecting the sealing of other flow channels, thereby further increasing the reliability of the seal and making the vehicle operation more reliable.

A multi-way valve 1000 of an embodiment of the present application is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13 . The multi-way valve 1000 is specifically a multi-channel switching valve, which is applied to new energy vehicles, such as pure electric vehicles. The multi-way valve 1000 is described below with specific examples.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the multi-way valve 1000 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a housing 100, a valve core 200 and a driver 400. The housing 100 is provided with a mounting cavity 110. One end of the housing 100 is opened to form a mounting port 111 communicating with the mounting cavity 110. The valve core 200 is assembled in the mounting cavity 110 through the mounting port 111, and the valve core 200 can rotate in the mounting cavity 110. The housing 100 is also provided with a valve cover 140 matching the mounting port 111. The valve cover 140 is fixedly connected to the housing 100 and covers the mounting port 111. A rotating shaft 210 is provided at one end of the valve core 200 away from the mounting port 111. The rotating shaft 210 passes through the housing 100 and is connected to the driver 400. The driver 400 is fixedly connected to one end of the housing 100 away from the valve cover 140, so that the driver 400 drives the valve core 200 to rotate in the housing 100.

As shown in Figure 1, it can be understood that the outer wall of the shell 100 is provided with a plurality of through holes 120 connected to the installation cavity 110, and the valve core 200 is provided with a plurality of flow channel structures. When the driver 400 drives the valve core 200 to rotate, it can switch the through hole 120 to connect with different flow channel structures to achieve control of the fluid medium. The fluid medium can enter the interior of the shell 100 from the through hole 120 or flow out from the interior of the shell 100 through the through hole 120, and be connected with the external pipeline through the through hole 120 to realize the multi-way valve 1000 to discharge the medium to the outside or absorb the medium, wherein the fluid medium can be water, antifreeze or other fluids, which are not limited here.

In combination with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , it can be understood that in the embodiment, the housing 100 is provided with six through holes 120, and the six through holes 120 are arranged in two rows along the axial direction of the housing 100, and each row has three through holes 120, that is, an arrangement structure of two rows and three columns; specifically, the outer peripheral wall of the housing 100 is provided with a mounting seat 130, and the multi-way valve 1000 can be connected to the external structure through the mounting seat 130, so as to fix the housing 100, achieve the purpose of installing the multi-way valve 1000, and also help to enhance the structural stability of the housing 100. The through holes 120 are arranged at the bottom position of the housing 100 facing the mounting seat 130. A sealing member 300 is provided between the housing 100 and the valve core 200. The sealing member 300 is provided on the inner peripheral wall of the installation cavity 110. The sealing member 300 is provided with a plurality of conducting ports 310. The conducting ports 310 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the through holes 120, so that the fluid can enter the flow channel structure through the through holes 120 and the conducting ports 310 in sequence, or flow out from the flow channel structure through the conducting ports 310 and the through holes 120 in sequence; the sealing member 300 contacts the housing 100 and the valve core 200 respectively, thereby forming a sealing structure between the through holes 120 and the flow channel structure, thereby ensuring that the fluid medium can flow stably.

As shown in Figure 1, the driver 400 is arranged at one end of the housing 100 and connected to the valve core 200, and the valve cover 140 is arranged at the other end of the housing 100. The driver 400 is composed of a motor, a reduction gear set and a control circuit board (not shown in the figure). The vehicle is suitable for communicating with the control circuit board and is used for the motor in the driver 400 to output driving force. The driving force outputs torque to the rotating shaft 210 after passing through the reduction gear set, thereby driving the valve core 200 to rotate in the housing 100.

3 , it can be understood that the inner wall of the housing 100 is provided with a mounting groove 112 matching the seal 300, and the through hole 120 is spaced apart on the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112. The seal 300 is assembled in the mounting groove 112, and the seal 300 is limited by the mounting groove 112. The outer wall of the seal 300 abuts against the inner wall of the mounting groove 112, which can reduce the occupation of the installation space in the housing 100, which is conducive to reducing the weight of the housing 100 and realizing the lightweight and miniaturized design of the multi-way valve 1000; the seal 300 is used to seal the flow channel structure between the valve core 200 and the housing 100, thereby ensuring that the valve core 200 and the seal 300, and the seal 300 and the housing 100 are sealed during the rotation of the valve core 200, preventing the leakage of the medium inside the flow channel structure from causing internal leakage and failure of the multi-way valve 1000, and avoiding internal mixing of the medium or loss of the regulating function of the multi-way valve 1000.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the seal 300 is an integrally formed structural member, and the side surface of the seal 300 facing the valve core 200 is an arc surface, and the arc surface abuts against the outer peripheral wall of the valve core 200, and the central angle of the seal 300 is less than 180°. The seal 300 is injection molded according to the arrangement structure of the through holes 120 and the size of the mounting groove 112, which is convenient for reducing the processing difficulty of the seal 300. It should be noted that the number of through holes 120 is not limited to six, and the arrangement method can also be flexibly set, and can be arranged in a structure of multiple columns and multiple rows. Correspondingly, the conduction openings 310 of the seal 300 are also adjusted according to the number and position of the through holes 120. For example, the number of through holes 120 can be eight, and the eight through holes 120 and the eight conduction openings 310 are arranged in two columns and four rows, respectively, and the specific details are not limited; it should be pointed out that the number of columns of the through holes 120 is less than the number of rows, which is convenient for controlling the circumferential size of the seal 300, which is conducive to saving the material of the seal 300 and realizing miniaturization and lightweight design.

It is understandable that, during actual assembly, there is no need to pre-roll the seal 300, and the seal 300 can be directly installed into the housing 100, thereby reducing the difficulty of assembling the seal 300, facilitating the realization of automated assembly, and enabling the deformation of the side where the seal 300 contacts the valve core 200 to be consistent with the deformation of the side where the seal 300 contacts the housing 100, thereby avoiding misalignment and deformation of the inside and outside of the seal 300, thereby enhancing the sealing of the seal 300; at the same time, it ensures that the seal 300 can be evenly stressed, thereby avoiding the generation of additional internal stress inside the seal 300, which is beneficial to extending the service life of the seal 300.

It should be noted that the seal 300 in the embodiment is made of elastic material. Preferably, the seal 300 is a rubber material, specifically, the material of the seal 300 is EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer), so that the seal 300 according to the embodiment of the present application has high cost performance, excellent aging resistance, excellent chemical resistance, excellent insulation performance and a wide range of applicable temperature characteristics.

In conjunction with FIG. 3 , it can be understood that the valve core 200 and the seal 300 are assembled by interference fit, and the valve core 200 can squeeze the seal 300 so that the seal 300 is sandwiched between the valve core 200 and the housing 100 to fix the seal 300, enhance the structural stability of the seal 300, and do not need to use structural limiters and other methods to fix the seal 300 separately, which is convenient for simplifying the connection structure between the housing 100 and the seal 300, and reducing the difficulty of assembly, which is conducive to realizing automated assembly. It should be noted that the material and fixing method of the above-mentioned seal 300 are only used for example and do not represent a limitation thereto.

3 , a plurality of convex ribs 320 are provided on one side of the sealing member 300 facing the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112. The plurality of convex ribs 320 are respectively arranged around the conducting opening 310, and the plurality of convex ribs 320 are respectively abutted against the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112. It can be understood that the convex ribs 320 are made of elastic material, such as rubber, and the convex ribs 320 are interference fit with the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112. In a specific embodiment, the convex ribs 320 and the sealing member 300 are an integrally formed structure to improve the stability of the sealing structure.

It can be understood that after the seal 300 is assembled in place, the valve core 200 compresses the seal 300 toward the inner wall of the shell 100 so that the rib 320 elastically presses against the inner wall of the shell 100. By providing the rib 320, the reaction force of the seal 300 after compression can be increased, the pressure deformation resistance of the seal 300 is increased, and the problem of reduced sealing performance due to the occurrence of sealing gaps is prevented, thereby further increasing the reliability of the seal.

It can be understood from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 that convex ribs 320 are provided between any adjacent conducting ports 310, that is, the convex ribs 320 are arranged around the conducting ports 310, so that each conducting port 310 and the through hole 120 are independently sealed. Specifically, since the conducting ports 310 and the through holes 120 are arranged one by one, the conducting ports 310 are arranged on the sealing member 300 to form two rows. In the embodiment, a part of the convex ribs 320 can be distributed along the axial direction of the valve core 200, and another part of the convex ribs 320 can be distributed along the circumferential direction of the valve core 200, so that each conducting port 310 is sealed, that is, the flow channel 220 between the valve core 200 and the housing 100 can be sealed separately, thereby enhancing the sealing performance of a single flow channel 220, and preventing the sealing failure of a single flow channel 220 from affecting the sealing performance of other flow channels 220. It should be noted that the distribution of the ribs 320 in the above embodiment is only for illustration and does not represent a limitation thereto. Each rib 320 may also extend in a ring shape along the circumference of the conducting opening 310 .

As shown in Figure 4, in some embodiments, the end surface of the rib 320 is an arcuate surface 321, and the arcuate surface 321 contacts the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112. It can be understood that the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112 has a certain curvature, and the arcuate surface 321 can match the cross-sectional shape of the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112, thereby ensuring that the rib 320 fits tightly against the shell 100, preventing the occurrence of a sealing gap and achieving an effective sealing effect.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 4 , the cross section of each rib 320 includes two parallel side walls, wherein the side wall on the right is the first wall surface 322, and the side wall on the left is the second wall surface 323. The first wall surface 322 and the second wall surface 323 are respectively located on both sides of the rib 320 along the width direction, and the first wall surface 322 and the second wall surface 323 are respectively connected to the two ends of the arc surface 321. It can be understood that, through the cooperation between the arc surface 321 and the parallel walls on both sides, when the rib 320 is compressed and deformed, it can be pressed against the bottom wall of the mounting groove 112 more stably, further increasing the reaction force of the seal 300 after compression, and the seal 300 has a stronger anti-compression deformation ability. It should be noted that when the seal 300 and the rib 320 are an integral injection molded part, the combination structure of the two parallel walls and the arc surface 321 is adopted, which is convenient for demoulding of the seal 300 and more efficient.

As shown in FIG. 4 , it can be understood that, in some embodiments, a plurality of convex ribs 320 may be provided between any adjacent conducting openings 310 at intervals, for example, two or three convex ribs 320 may be provided, and the gap L between adjacent convex ribs 320 is greater than 1 mm, so that the elasticity of the seal 300 is not affected while the sealing performance of the seal 300 is enhanced, which is conducive to keeping the torsion of the valve core 200 within a smaller range. It should be noted that after the seal 300 is installed in the installation groove 112, the seal 300 can be closely fitted with the side wall of the installation groove 112, thereby increasing the contact area between the seal 300 and the housing 100, which is conducive to improving the sealing effect of the seal 300.

Considering that the valve core 200 needs to rotate back and forth during the product life cycle under normal working conditions, the seal 300 will be worn after long-term use, and the multi-way valve 1000 is prone to leakage. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, a protective layer (not shown in the figure) is provided on the side of the seal 300 facing the valve core 200, and the protective layer is made of wear-resistant material. The protective layer covers the surface of the seal 300 and contacts the outer peripheral wall of the valve core 200. Considering that a plurality of conduction ports 310 are distributed on the seal 300, avoidance holes corresponding to the conduction ports 310 are provided on the protective layer, so that the protective layer does not affect the passage of the fluid through the conduction ports 310. It can be understood that by adding a protective layer to the seal 300, it is convenient to reduce the wear of the valve core 200 on the seal 300 during the rotation process, which is conducive to protecting the seal 300, thereby improving the sealing reliability and extending the service life of the seal 300.

It should be noted that the material of the protective layer in the embodiment is a material with a small friction coefficient and wear resistance. For example, the protective layer can be made of a fluoroplastic film or a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material, etc., so that the protective layer has the effect of wear resistance and a small friction coefficient, which is beneficial to reduce the friction between the seal 300 and the valve core 200, effectively reduce the wear of the seal 300, and extend the service life of the seal 300. At the same time, the torsion of the valve core 200 can be kept within a small range. Of course, the material of the protective layer can also be any material that meets the performance requirements, which is not limited here.

In other embodiments, the protective layer is constructed as a coating film (not shown in the figure), and the coating film can be made of a fluoroplastic film, such as a PTFE-based material, so that the coating film has properties such as wear resistance and lubrication, which is conducive to improving its friction and wear performance. In actual production, the side of the coating film facing the seal 300 is chemically treated, and the side of the seal 300 facing the coating film is chemically treated. Then, the coating film and the seal 300 are assembled and injection molded so that the coating film and the seal 300 have the same shape, and then the coating film is punched by a punching tool so that a avoidance hole corresponding to the conducting port 310 is formed on the coating film.

5 and 6 , in the embodiment, the valve core 200 is a columnar structure, and the valve core 200 has a hollow structure to form an inner cavity 230. The inner cavity 230 of the valve core 200 is provided with a plurality of flow channels 220, and the plurality of flow channels 220 are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the valve core 200. It can be understood that each flow channel 220 is provided with at least two flow channel openings 221, and the flow channel openings 221 of each flow channel 220 are distributed on the outer peripheral wall of the valve core 200.

It is understandable that when the driver 400 drives the valve core 200 to rotate, the flow channel openings 221 at different positions can be connected to the corresponding two through holes 120, so that the through holes 120 and the flow channels 220 cooperate to form a circulation channel for the medium to flow. It should be noted that the fluid medium can enter the multi-way valve 1000 or flow out from the multi-way valve 1000 through the circulation channel. Different circulation channels can realize different working modes. By increasing the number of flow channels 220 on the valve core 200 and increasing the number of through holes 120 on the housing 100, the switching modes of the multi-way valve 1000 can be increased, thereby meeting more working requirements.

In conjunction with Figure 2, it can be understood that six through holes 120 are provided on the shell 100 of the embodiment, and every two through holes 120 can be connected to a flow channel 220. That is to say, the embodiment can simultaneously form up to three flow channels through the combination of the through holes 120 and the flow channels 220, and the control of the fluid can be achieved by switching different flow channels; since the multi-channel structure can be integrated on the valve core 200, the overall volume and weight of the multi-way valve 1000 are effectively reduced, the structure is simplified, and it is easy to install, which can meet the use requirements of high integration of the thermal management system and is also conducive to reducing manufacturing costs.

As shown in FIG6 , the inner cavity 230 of the valve core 200 is provided with a plurality of partitions 231 arranged along the circumference of the valve core 200, wherein a connecting column is provided at the center of the inner cavity 230 of the valve core 200, the partition 231 is connected to the connecting column along one side of the radial direction of the valve core 200, and is connected to the peripheral wall of the valve core 200 on the other side, and the plurality of partitions 231 extend along the axial direction of the valve core 200, and the adjacent partitions 231 cooperate with the outer peripheral wall of the valve core 200 to form a flow channel 220, and each flow channel 220 is roughly fan-shaped. It should be noted that the size of the flow channel 220 can be radially adjusted according to the spacing between adjacent partitions 231, and in the embodiment, the flow channels 220 at different positions can be set to the same size or different sizes, which is not specifically limited.

The valve core 200 is described with a specific example. In combination with FIG. 2 , it can be understood that in the embodiment, the housing 100 is provided with six through holes 120, and the six through holes 120 are arranged in two rows along the circumference of the valve core 200, and are arranged in three rows along the axial direction of the valve core 200. There are four flow channels 220, and the four flow channels 220 are respectively a first flow channel 240, a second flow channel 250, a third flow channel 260 and a fourth flow channel 270. The first flow channel 240, the second flow channel 250, the third flow channel 260 and the fourth flow channel 270 are arranged along the valve core 200. The flow channel openings 221 of each flow channel 220 are arranged at axial intervals of the valve core 200, and the outer peripheral wall of the valve core 200 is evenly divided into seven switching zones along the circumferential direction. Each switching zone is provided with a maximum of three flow channel openings 221 along the axial direction of the valve core 200. Two adjacent switching zones can be combined with a maximum of six flow channel openings 221, that is, an arrangement of two columns and three rows. In this way, when the valve core 200 rotates, the area where the through hole 120 is located corresponds to any two adjacent switching zones, thereby realizing the conduction of different flow channels 220.

5, it should be noted that the outer peripheral wall of the valve core 200 is provided with four first protrusions 208 and seven second protrusions 209, wherein the four first protrusions 208 are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the valve core 200, and each first protrusion 208 extends along the circumference of the valve core 200 to form a ring structure; the seven second protrusions 209 are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the valve core 200, and each second protrusion 209 extends along the axial direction of the valve core 200 to form a strip structure, that is, the valve core 2 in the embodiment The outer peripheral wall of 00 has four annular first protrusions 208 and seven strip-shaped second protrusions 209; it can be understood that the first protrusions 208 and the second protrusions 209 cooperate to form a square edge, and the edge surrounds the outer peripheral edge of the flow channel opening 221, and the first protrusions 208 and the second protrusions 209 are respectively abutted against the inner peripheral wall of the installation cavity 110, and the flow channel opening 221 is separated axially by the first protrusions 208, and the flow channel opening 221 is separated circumferentially by the second protrusions 209.

It can be understood that, at the corresponding position of the flow channel opening 221 and the through hole 120, the sealing member 300 plays a sealing role between the through hole 120 and the conducting port 310; and in the area outside the through hole 120, the first protrusion 208 and the second protrusion 209 abut against the inner circumferential wall of the mounting cavity 110, so that a seal is formed between the outer circumferential wall of the valve core 200 and the inner circumferential wall of the mounting cavity 110, thereby ensuring that the sealing between the valve core 200 and the housing 100, the valve core 200 and the sealing member 300, and the sealing member 300 and the housing 100 is achieved during the rotation of the valve core 200, thereby preventing the leakage of the medium inside the flow channel structure, which may cause internal leakage and failure of the multi-way valve 1000, thereby avoiding internal mixing of the medium or loss of the regulating function of the multi-way valve 1000, and making the overall sealing performance of the multi-way valve 1000 more reliable.

It can be understood that the multi-way valve 1000 in the embodiment has six states, namely the first state, the second state, the third state, the fourth state, the fifth state and the sixth state, and each state corresponds to two adjacent switching zones at different positions. That is to say, any two adjacent switching zones cooperate with the corresponding through holes 120 to form conduction, thereby realizing multiple states of the multi-way valve 1000.

Specifically, referring to Figure 5, Figure 5 is a front schematic diagram corresponding to the two switching zones in the first state, wherein the switching zone on the left is the first switching zone 201, and the switching zone on the right is the second switching zone 202. The first flow channel 240 is provided with two first flow channel openings 241, and the two first flow channel openings 241 are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the valve core 200; the second flow channel 250 is provided with two second flow channel openings 251, and the two second flow channel openings 251 are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the valve core 200, and the two second flow channel openings 251 are arranged in parallel with the two first flow channel openings 241, the first flow channel opening 241 is located in the first switching zone 201, and the second flow channel opening 251 is located in the second switching zone 202. When the multi-way valve 1000 switches to the first state, the two first flow channel openings 241 are connected to two of the through holes 120, the two second flow channel openings 251 are connected to two of the through holes 120, and the remaining through holes 120 are in a closed state. The direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 5 is the flow direction of the fluid, which can realize the first working mode of the multi-way valve 1000, for example, the two circulation channels respectively dissipate heat for the motor and the battery.

It should be noted that, as shown in Figure 5, since the length of the first flow channel 240 only connects the two first flow channel openings 241, a closed opening 280 is set in the first switching zone 201 at a position close to the side of the rotating shaft 210, that is, the through hole 120 is not conductive when corresponding to the closed opening 280, and is in a closed state; at the same time, a third flow channel opening 261 is set in the second switching zone 202 at a position close to the side of the rotating shaft 210, and the third flow channel opening 261 is connected to the third flow channel 260; combined with Figure 7, it can be understood that the third flow channel 260 extends along the circumference of the valve core 200 to one end of the second flow channel 250 and is spaced apart from the second flow channel 250, that is, the third flow channel 260 extends to the second switching zone 202, so that one of the third flow channel openings 261 is located in the second switching zone 202.

Referring to Figure 8, Figure 8 is a front schematic diagram corresponding to the two switching zones in the second state, wherein the switching zone on the left is the second switching zone 202, and the switching zone on the right is the third switching zone 203. The third flow channel 260 is provided with three flow channel openings 221, wherein two third flow channel openings 261 are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the valve core 200, a closed opening 280 is provided between the two, and the other third flow channel opening 261 is located in the second switching zone 202; when the multi-way valve 1000 is switched to the second state, the two second flow channel openings 251 are connected to two of the through holes 120, the three third flow channel openings 261 are connected to three of the through holes 120, and the remaining through holes 120 are in a closed state. The direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 8 is the flow direction of the fluid, realizing the second working mode of the multi-way valve 1000, and heat dissipation for other modules such as the radiator.

Referring to Figure 9, Figure 9 is a front schematic diagram corresponding to the two switching zones in the third state, wherein the switching zone on the left is the third switching zone 203, and the switching zone on the right is the fourth switching zone 204. It should be noted that the fourth flow channel 270 is provided with seven fourth flow channel openings 271, and the seven fourth flow channel openings 271 are all connected, wherein two fourth flow channel openings 271 are located in the fourth switching zone 204, and a closed opening 280 is provided between the two fourth flow channel openings 271; when the multi-way valve 1000 is switched to the third state, the two third flow channel openings 261 are connected to two of the through holes 120, the two fourth flow channel openings 271 are connected to two of the through holes 120, and the remaining through holes 120 are in a closed state. The direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 9 is the flow direction of the fluid, realizing the third working mode of the multi-way valve 1000, which can specifically be the medium filling mode.

Referring to Figure 10, Figure 10 is a front schematic diagram corresponding to the two switching zones in the fourth state, wherein the switching zone on the left is the fourth switching zone 204, and the switching zone on the right is the fifth switching zone 205. The fourth switching zone 204 is provided with two fourth flow channel openings 271, and the fifth switching zone 205 is provided with one fourth flow channel opening 271; when the multi-way valve 1000 switches to the fourth state, the three fourth flow channel openings 271 are connected to three of the through holes 120, and the remaining through holes 120 are in a closed state. The direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 10 is the flow direction of the fluid, thereby realizing the fourth working mode of the multi-way valve 1000.

Referring to Figure 11, in the state shown in Figure 11, there are three fourth flow channel openings 271 connected to three of the through holes 120. The difference from the fourth state shown in Figure 10 is that at this time, the through holes 120 correspond to the fifth switching zone 205 and the sixth switching zone 206, and the sixth switching zone 206 is provided with two fourth flow channel openings 271. The direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 11 is the flow direction of the fluid. This state can also realize the fourth working mode of the multi-way valve 1000.

Referring to Figure 12, Figure 12 is a front schematic diagram corresponding to the two switching zones in the fifth state, wherein the switching zone on the left is the sixth switching zone 206, and the switching zone on the right is the seventh switching zone 207. The seventh switching zone 207 is provided with two fourth flow channel openings 271; when the multi-way valve 1000 switches to the fifth state, the four fourth flow channel openings 271 are connected to four of the through holes 120, and the remaining through holes 120 are in a closed state. The direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 12 is the flow direction of the fluid, realizing the fifth working mode of the multi-way valve 1000.

Referring to Figure 13, Figure 13 is a front schematic diagram corresponding to the two switching zones in the sixth state, wherein the switching zone on the left is the seventh switching zone 207, and the switching zone on the right is the first switching zone 201. When the multi-way valve 1000 switches to the sixth state, the two fourth flow channel openings 271 are connected to two of the through holes 120, the two first flow channel openings 241 are connected to two of the through holes 120, and the remaining through holes 120 are in a closed state. The direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 13 is the flow direction of the fluid, realizing the sixth working mode of the multi-way valve 1000.

It should be noted that the two different states of the multi-way valve 1000 can be realized by sharing the same switching area, that is, the same flow channel 220 can be applicable to different states. For example, the second switching area 202 and the second flow channel 250 are shared in the first state and the second state, so that the valve core 200 can switch the working mode at a smaller rotation angle. The design is more reasonable. While meeting the number of working mode requirements, the number of flow channels 220 can be reduced, thereby effectively reducing the overall volume and mass of the valve core 200. The structure is simplified and easy to install. It can meet the use requirements of high integration of thermal management systems and is also conducive to reducing manufacturing costs.

According to the multi-way valve of the embodiment of the present application, the valve core is rotatably installed in the installation cavity of the shell, and a plurality of flow channels are arranged in the inner cavity of the valve core, and the plurality of inner flow channels are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the valve core, and each flow channel has at least two flow channel openings and is distributed on the outer peripheral wall of the valve core, so that a multi-flow channel structure is formed on the valve core, and the flow channel opening is used to communicate with the through hole, and the valve core is driven to rotate by a driver through a rotating shaft, so that the flow channel can be connected with two of the through holes through the flow channel opening to form a circulation channel for the flow of the medium, and the control of the fluid is achieved by switching different circulation channels; a sealing member is arranged between the inner peripheral wall of the installation cavity and the valve core, and a plurality of convex ribs are arranged on a side of the sealing member facing the through hole, and a convex rib is arranged around the outer peripheral edge of each conducting opening, and An arcuate surface is provided at the end of the convex rib away from the sealing member, the side wall on one side of the convex rib is the first wall surface, and the side wall away from the first wall surface is the second wall surface, the first wall surface and the second wall surface are arranged in parallel, and the first wall surface and the second wall surface are connected by the arcuate surface, and are respectively abutted against the inner circumferential wall of the installation cavity through multiple convex ribs. When the convex rib is deformed under pressure, it can be pressed against the inner circumferential wall of the installation cavity more stably, effectively increasing the reaction force of the seal after being compressed, improving the seal's resistance to compression deformation, and improving the sealing performance. It plays an effective sealing role between each through hole and the corresponding conducting port, avoiding the sealing failure of a single flow channel from affecting the sealing of other flow channels, thereby further increasing the reliability of the seal and making the multi-way valve more reliable as a whole.

An embodiment of the present application also proposes a thermal management system, including a manifold (not shown) and the multi-way valve 1000 of the above embodiment, wherein the manifold is provided with a plurality of channels for circulating the medium, the multi-way valve 1000 is arranged on the manifold, the plurality of channels are respectively connected to a plurality of through holes 120, and the valve core 200 rotates to control the thermal management system to switch modes.

It is understandable that the multi-way valve 1000 uses the seal 300 to seal the flow channel structure between the valve core 200 and the housing 100 to prevent leakage of the medium inside the flow channel structure, which may cause internal leakage and failure of the multi-way valve 1000, and avoid mixing of the medium inside or loss of the regulating function of the multi-way valve 1000. When the driver 400 drives the valve core 200 to rotate, the flow channel openings 221 at different positions can be connected to the corresponding two through holes 120. Different circulation channels can realize different working modes. By increasing the number of flow channels 220 on the valve core 200 and increasing the number of through holes 120 on the housing 100, the switching modes of the multi-way valve 1000 can be increased, thereby meeting more working requirements.

The thermal management system according to the present application adopts the multi-way valve described above, so the thermal management system also has the technical effects described above, which will not be repeated here.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a vehicle (not shown in the drawings), which may be a new energy vehicle. The vehicle applies the thermal management system of the above embodiments. In some embodiments, the new energy vehicle may be a pure electric vehicle with a motor as the main driving force, and the new energy vehicle may also be a hybrid vehicle with an internal combustion engine and a motor as the main driving force. Regarding the internal combustion engine and the motor mentioned in the above embodiments that provide driving power for the new energy vehicle, the internal combustion engine may use gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, etc. as fuel, and the way to provide electrical energy to the motor may use power batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, etc., which are not specifically limited here. It should be noted that this is only an exemplary description of the structure of new energy vehicles, etc., and it does not limit the scope of protection of this application.

Similarly, the vehicle according to the present application adopts the thermal management system described above, and the thermal management system described above adopts the multi-way valve, so the vehicle also has the technical effects described above, which will not be repeated here.

Some embodiments of the present application are described in detail above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge scope of ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field without departing from the purpose of the present application.

Claims

Multi-port valve, comprising:

A housing is provided with a mounting cavity, and a peripheral wall of the housing is provided with a plurality of through holes communicating with the mounting cavity;

A valve core is rotatably arranged in the installation cavity, a rotating shaft is arranged at one end of the valve core, an inner cavity is arranged in the valve core, a plurality of flow channels are arranged in the inner cavity, the plurality of flow channels are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the valve core, each of the flow channels is provided with at least two flow channel openings, at least two of the flow channel openings are arranged at intervals on the outer peripheral wall of the valve core, and the flow channel openings are used to communicate with the through hole;

A sealing member is provided on the inner peripheral wall of the installation cavity and is located between the through hole and the valve core, the sealing member is provided with a plurality of conducting ports, and the conducting ports are arranged one by one with the through holes; a plurality of convex ribs are provided on a side of the sealing member facing the through hole, the convex ribs are arranged around the outer peripheral edge of each of the conducting ports, and the plurality of convex ribs are respectively in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the installation cavity; an arcuate surface is provided at an end of the convex rib away from the sealing member, a side wall on one side of the convex rib is a first wall surface, and a side wall away from the first wall surface is a second wall surface, the first wall surface is arranged in parallel with the second wall surface, and the first wall surface and the second wall surface are connected through the arcuate surface; and

A driver is connected to one end of the shell and to the rotating shaft to drive the valve core to rotate. When the valve core rotates, the flow channel openings at different positions along the circumference of the valve core can be connected to at least two of the through holes.
The multi-way valve according to claim 1, wherein at least two of the convex ribs are provided between adjacent of the conducting ports, the at least two of the convex ribs are arranged at intervals, and the interval between adjacent of the convex ribs is greater than 1 mm.
According to the multi-way valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner circumferential wall of the mounting cavity is provided with a mounting groove matching the seal, a plurality of through holes are arranged at intervals on the bottom wall of the mounting groove, the outer circumferential wall of the seal abuts against the inner circumferential wall of the mounting groove, and the convex rib abuts against the bottom wall of the mounting groove.
The multi-way valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a side surface of the sealing member facing the valve core is an arc surface, the arc surface abuts against an outer peripheral wall of the valve core, and along the circumference of the valve core, a central angle of the arc surface is less than 180°.
The multi-way valve according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a protective layer made of a wear-resistant material is provided on a side of the seal facing the valve core, the protective layer covers the surface of the seal, and the protective layer is provided with avoidance holes corresponding one-to-one to the conducting ports.
The multi-way valve according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sealing member is made of an elastic material, and the rib and the sealing member are an integrally formed structure.
According to any one of claims 1 to 6, the outer peripheral wall of the valve core is provided with a plurality of first protrusions and a plurality of second protrusions, the plurality of first protrusions are arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the valve core, and the plurality of first protrusions extend along the circumferential direction of the valve core; the plurality of second protrusions are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the valve core, and the plurality of second protrusions extend along the axial direction of the valve core, the first protrusions and the second protrusions are cooperated to surround the outer peripheral edge of the flow channel opening, and the first protrusions and the second protrusions are respectively abutted against the inner peripheral wall of the mounting cavity.
The multi-way valve according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the plurality of through holes are arranged in a plurality of columns along the circumferential direction of the shell, the plurality of columns of through holes are arranged in a plurality of rows along the axial direction of the shell, and the number of columns of the through holes is less than the number of rows.
The multi-way valve according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the inner cavity is provided with a plurality of partitions arranged along the circumference of the valve core, the plurality of partitions extend along the axial direction of the valve core, adjacent partitions cooperate with the outer peripheral wall of the valve core to define the flow channel, and the plurality of flow channels extend along the axial direction of the valve core respectively.
The multi-way valve according to claim 9, wherein the through holes are provided with at least six, and the at least six through holes are arranged in two columns along the circumference of the valve core and arranged in multiple rows along the axial direction of the valve core, and the flow channels are provided with at least four, and the four flow channels are respectively a first flow channel, a second flow channel, a third flow channel and a fourth flow channel, and along the axial direction of the valve core, the first flow channel is provided with two first flow channel openings arranged at intervals, the second flow channel is provided with two second flow channel openings arranged at intervals, and the third flow channel is provided with three third flow channel openings, wherein two of the third flow channel openings are arranged along the axial direction of the valve core, and the other third flow channel opening is spaced from the second flow channel opening along the axial direction of the valve core, and the fourth flow channel is provided with seven fourth flow channel openings; the driver drives the valve core to rotate, so that the multi-way valve includes at least six states:

In a first state, two of the first flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, two of the second flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state;

In the second state, two of the second flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, three of the third flow channel openings are connected to three of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state;

In the third state, two of the third flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, two of the fourth flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state;

In a fourth state, three of the fourth flow channel openings are connected to three of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state;

In a fifth state, the four fourth flow channel openings are connected to four of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state; and

In the sixth state, two of the first flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, two of the fourth flow channel openings are connected to two of the through holes, and the remaining through holes are in a closed state.
Thermal management system, including:

A manifold having a plurality of channels for circulating medium; and

The multi-way valve according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the multi-way valve is arranged on the manifold, the plurality of channels are respectively connected to the plurality of through holes, and the driver drives the valve core to rotate to control the thermal management system to switch the working mode.
A vehicle comprising the thermal management system according to claim 11.