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US 12,736,142 B2Granted
Ball valve and vehicle thermal management device comprising same
AssigneeHanon Systems
InventorsSeong Hun Kim, Sung Je Lee, Hae Jun Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An embodiment discloses a ball valve and a vehicle thermal management device including the same, in which the ball valve controls a movement of a refrigerant moving along the inside thereof or selectively expands the moving refrigerant by controlling a rotational position of a ball by using a ball having grooves and an actuator configured to control a rotation of the ball. Accordingly, the vehicle thermal management device may be implemented in a compact size while improving cooling/heating performance.
Claims19
A ball valve, comprising:
- a housing including a first housing hole, a second housing hole, and a third housing hole disposed to communicate with one another;
- a ball rotatably disposed in the housing;
- an actuator configured to rotate the ball;
- a ring-shaped first sealing part disposed in the first housing hole while facing the ball;
- and
- a ring-shaped second sealing part disposed in the second housing hole while facing the ball,
- wherein the ball comprises:
- a ball body having a spherical shape;
- first and second holes disposed in the ball body and configured to communicate with each other;
- and
- two grooves formed to have a predetermined length in a circumferential direction of the ball body so as to be connected to the first hole,
- wherein the second hole is disposed to correspond to the third housing hole, and
- wherein based on a rotation center, a first included angle defined between the two grooves is larger than a second included angle defined between one point disposed on an inner diameter of the ring-shaped first sealing part and one point disposed on an inner diameter of the ring-shaped second sealing part so as to be adjacent, in the circumferential direction, to the one point disposed on the inner diameter of the ring-shaped first sealing part.
10 more elements
A vehicle thermal management device, comprising:
- a compressor configured to compress and circulate a refrigerant;
- a first heat exchanger in which the compressed refrigerant is introduced and exchanges heat with another heat exchange medium;
- a second heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air present outside an occupant compartment;
- a third heat exchanger mounted in an air conditioning device and configured to exchange heat with air discharged into the occupant compartment;
- and
- a vapor injection module configured to introduce a gaseous refrigerant into the compressor,
- wherein the vapor injection module comprises a first expansion means group, a second expansion means group, and a gas-liquid separator,
- wherein a first expansion means of the first expansion means group and a third expansion means of the second expansion means group each comprise:
- a housing including a first housing hole, a second housing hole, and a third housing hole disposed to communicate with one another;
- a ball rotatably disposed in the housing;
- an actuator configured to rotate the ball;
- a ring-shaped first sealing part disposed in the first housing hole while facing the ball;
- and
- a ring-shaped second sealing part disposed in the second housing hole while facing the ball,
- wherein the ball comprises:
- a ball body having a spherical shape;
- first and second holes disposed in the ball body and configured to communicate with each other;
- and
- first and second grooves formed to have a predetermined length in a circumferential direction of the ball body so as to be connected to the first hole, and
- wherein based on a rotation center, a first included angle defined between the first and second grooves is smaller than a second included angle defined between one point disposed on an inner diameter of the ring-shaped first sealing part and one point disposed on an inner diameter of the ring-shaped second sealing part so as to be adjacent, in the circumferential direction, to the one point disposed on the inner diameter of the ring-shaped first sealing part.
17 more elements
A vehicle thermal management device including:
- a compressor configured to compress and circulate a refrigerant;
- a first heat exchanger in which the compressed refrigerant is introduced and exchanges heat with another heat exchange medium;
- a second heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air present outside an occupant compartment;
- a chiller;
- and
- a ball valve configured to move the refrigerant, which passes through the first heat exchanger, to at least any one of the second heat exchanger and the chiller,
- wherein the ball valve comprises:
- a housing including a first housing hole, a second housing hole, and a third housing hole disposed to communicate with one another;
- a ball rotatably disposed in the housing;
- an actuator configured to rotate the ball;
- a ring-shaped first sealing part disposed in the first housing hole while facing the ball;
- and
- a ring-shaped second sealing part disposed in the second housing hole while facing the ball,
- wherein the ball comprises:
- a ball body having a spherical shape;
- first and second holes disposed in the ball body and configured to communicate with each other;
- and
- first and second grooves formed to have a predetermined length in a circumferential direction of the ball body so as to be connected to the first hole, and
- wherein based on a rotation center, a first included angle defined between the first and second grooves is larger than a second included angle defined between one point disposed on an inner diameter of the ring-shaped first sealing part and one point disposed on an inner diameter of the ring-shaped second sealing part so as to be adjacent, in the circumferential direction, to the one point disposed on the inner diameter of the ring-shaped first sealing part.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.