Patent Description:
The present application relates to the technical field of fluid control, and in particular to a thermostatic valve.

A vehicle is equipped with a thermostatic valve, and the thermostatic valve includes a connecting tube portion and a mounting base portion. The connecting tube portion is used for being in communication with a corresponding tube, and the mounting base portion is used for mounting the thermostatic valve to a vehicle body, to realize positioning.

Currently, the thermostatic valve is mainly manufactured through profile machining, but there is a certain difficulty in profile machining. For example, as for the connecting tube portion, a tube hole is required to be machined by cutting, although the tube hole can be machined by cutting to a certain extent, there are still some redundant materials cannot be removed due to the limitation of the process cost, the weight of the product cannot be reduced to a greater extent, resulting in a problem that the product cannot meet the lightweight demand of the valve body in the current processing mode.

In view of this, a technical problem to be addressed by those skilled in the art is to optimize the structure of the valve body of the thermostatic valve, so as to further realize the lightweighting of the valve body and save material and cost. <CIT> discloses a temperature regulator. The temperature regulator includes a valve body provided with an inner cavity, wherein a thermal actuator is arranged in the inner cavity; the inner cavity of the valve body is a through hole; at least three connecting ports which are respectively communicated with the inner cavity are also formed in the valve body; the inner cavity is divided into two independent spaces by a sealing piece; the two independent spaces are respectively communicated with the two connecting ports to form two flow channels which are isolated from each other. <CIT> discloses a separator tank assembly including a cast hollow tank and a cast lid. The cast hollow tank has a closed end and an open end having a first opening and a second opening. The cast lid has a first passage configured for fluid communication with the tank first opening and a second passage configured for sealed fluid communication with the second opening. The first passage is formed with an integral port configured to receive a pressure control valve and the second passage is formed with an integral port configured to receive an oil filter and wherein the tank is configured such that air having undergone primary separation flows through the first opening and oil within the tank flows through the second opening. <CIT> discloses a thermostatic valve, which includes a main body portion, a cavity formed as part of a main body portion, and an inner wall integrally formed with the main body portion adjacent the cavity. A circumferential flange is integrally formed with the inner wall, such that the circumferential flange surrounds a valve cavity. A valve member is attached to the inner wall disposed in the valve cavity, and a flow aperture is formed as part of the inner wall. Fluid flows through the flow aperture into the valve cavity, and when the pressure in the valve cavity is above a predetermined value, the valve member contacts the inner wall, preventing fluid from flowing through the flow aperture.

<CIT> discloses a valve housing blank and a valve assembly made up of the valve housing blank.

In order to solve the technical problem, a thermostatic valve is provided according to the present application, including a valve body formed by die casting. The valve body includes a main valve body configured to form a valve cavity, and a plurality of connecting tube portions. Each of the connecting tube portions includes a straight tube section connected to the main valve body. The valve body further includes a mounting base portion, the mounting base portion is arranged to be adjacent to the connecting tube portion, and a reinforcing rib is provided between the adjacent straight tube section of the connecting tube portion and the mounting base portion.

The valve body in the technical solution is formed by die casting, the connecting tube portions, the mounting base portion and the main valve body are formed by die casting. For a valve body formed by die-casting, a mold can be designed according to the demands, and a desired structure can be formed by injecting the liquid metal raw material of the valve body into the mold, die casting and then demolding. Therefore, each portion of the valve body can be processed according to actual size requirements through die-casting, which can achieve the lightweight design of the valve body of the thermostatic valve, and the waste of the material is less. Moreover, compared with machining, portions difficult to be cut or cannot be cut by machining can also be removed with die casting, which saves production costs. The reinforcing ribs are provided to meet the strength requirements in a case that die casting is employed.

For those skilled in the art to better understand technical solutions of the present application, the present application will be further described in detail in conjunction with drawings and embodiments hereinafter.

Referring to <FIG>, <FIG> is a schematic view showing the structure of a valve body of a thermostatic valve according to a specific embodiment of the present application; <FIG> is a schematic view of <FIG> from another perspective; and <FIG> is an axial sectional view of <FIG>.

A valve body <NUM> of a thermostatic valve is provided according to the specific embodiment. As shown in <FIG>, the valve body <NUM> includes a main valve body <NUM> configured to form a valve cavity, and a plurality of connecting tube portions in communication with the main valve body <NUM>. Four connecting tube portions are shown in <FIG>, namely, a first connecting tube portion <NUM>, a second connecting tube portion <NUM>, a third connecting tube portion <NUM> and a fourth connecting tube portion <NUM>, which are configured to be in communication with corresponding tubes, respectively. The valve cavity of the main valve body <NUM> is configured for mounting components such as a valve core and the like. The main valve body <NUM> includes a first main valve body 500a and a second main valve body 500b. In <FIG>, the first main valve body 500a is located at a right side and the second main valve body 500b is located at a left side. An outer diameter of the first main valve body 500a is greater than that of the second main valve body 500b, which facilitates demolding.

The thermostatic valve according to the specific embodiment can be installed in a vehicle, so the valve body <NUM> of the thermostatic valve is further provided with a mounting base portion configured to be in communication with a vehicle body. The mounting base portion specifically includes the mounting base portion configured to be connected to the vehicle body and a gearbox fixing base portion configured to be connected to a gearbox system in the vehicle as shown in the figure. The gearbox fixing base portion and the mounting base portion are both arranged at the main valve body <NUM>, or the gearbox fixing base portion and the mounting base portion are part of the main valve body <NUM>.

The valve body <NUM> in this embodiment is integrally formed by die casting, that is, the structure shown in <FIG> is an integral structure, and the connecting tube portions, the mounting base portion and the fixing base portion can be integrally formed with the main valve body <NUM> by die casting. For the valve body <NUM> formed by die-casting, a mold can be designed according to the demands, and a desired structure can be formed after injecting a liquid metal raw material of the valve body <NUM> into the mold, die-casting and then demolding. Therefore, each portion of the valve body <NUM> can be processed according to actual size requirements through die-casting, which can improve an utilization rate of the material, realize a lightweight design of the valve body <NUM> of the thermostatic valve, decrease material waste, reduce a processing amount of cutting and save production costs. During die-casting, an aluminum material may be employed, to further realize lightweighting.

As shown in <FIG>, specific structures of the connecting tube portions are optimized according to this embodiment. Each of the connecting tube portions includes a straight tube section 10a in communication with the main valve body <NUM> and a conical section 10b connected to the straight tube section 10a, the conical section 10b forms a tube opening of the connecting tube portion, and the straight tube section 10a is connected to a side wall of the main valve body <NUM>. Herein, the connecting tube portion is described as two sections, namely, the conical section 10b and the straight tube section 10a to facilitate illustration of the structure. In fact, as described above, since the connecting tube portion is integrally formed by die-casting, the conical section 10b and the straight tube section 10a are of an integrated structure, and there is no physical boundary.

Herein, a position of the tube opening of the connecting tube portion is designed to have the conical section 10b, such that the connecting tube portion is expanded to a certain extent at the position of the tube opening, which is convenient for the connecting tube portion to be in communication with another corresponding tube or tube opening, so that a medium can flow into or out of the thermostatic valve smoothly, thereby satisfying the requirements of reliable and rapid installation, and materials can also be saved (in a case that the tube is relatively large, an outer diameter of a main body of the connecting tube portion may be small). Of course, in order to enable the tube opening to be expanded, it is more conventional to cut or squeeze directly inside the straight cylindrical connecting tube portion to form a flare, while according to this technical solution, the connecting tube portion is designed to include the straight tube section 10a and the conical section 10b, so that a wall thickness of the whole connecting tube portion is relatively uniform. As shown in <FIG>, a wall thickness of the straight tube section 10a is substantially the same as that of the conical section 10b, so that in a die-casting process, die-casting performance can be improved and generation of bubbles can be reduced. That is, integral formation by the die casting is realized, performance of a connecting position of the connecting tube portion is good, and bubbles can be reduced, and thereby airtightness of the valve body <NUM> is ensured.

With continued reference to <FIG>, as described above, in order to mount the thermostatic valve, the main valve body <NUM> is further provided with a mounting base portion for mounting the thermostatic valve to the vehicle body, and a fixing base portion fixed to the gearbox. During die-casting, a reinforcing rib for reinforcing the mounting base portion and/or the connecting tube portion is further formed by integral die-casting of the main valve body <NUM>.

Specifically, in this embodiment, two connecting tube portions are arranged at one side of the main valve body <NUM>, namely, the first connecting tube portion <NUM> and the second connecting tube portion <NUM>. Viewed from the perspective of <FIG>, that is, an upper side of the main valve body <NUM> is provided with the two connecting tube portions; and a lower side of the main valve body <NUM> is also provided with two connecting tube portions, namely, the third connecting tube portion <NUM> and the fourth connecting tube portion <NUM>.

The mounting base portion specifically includes a first mounting base portion <NUM> and a second mounting base portion <NUM>. The fixing base portion connected to the gearbox specifically includes a first fixing base portion <NUM> and a second fixing base portion <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, both the two mounting base portions are located at the upper side of the main valve body <NUM>, the two mounting base portions are located at two sides of the second connecting tube portion <NUM>, and are horizontally arranged, and an axis of each of the mounting base portions is substantially vertical to an axis of the connecting tube portion. In this embodiment, the mounting base portion, the fixing base portion and the main valve body <NUM> (including the first main valve body 500a and the second main valve body 500b) are each has a cylindrical shape or a substantially cylindrical shape, which saves the material.

The material around the connecting tube portions, the mounting base portion and the fixing base portion can be removed, however, since the machining is very difficult and even cannot be performed, the above material is not removed in the conventional technology. With the arrangement in this embodiment, die-casting is employed, and stability of the connecting tube portions, the mounting base portion and the fixing base portion is improved through the reinforcing rib, the processing is simple and the material is saved.

As shown in <FIG>, the first mounting base portion <NUM> has a circular mounting through-hole, and the second mounting base portion <NUM> has an oblong mounting through-hole, a major axis of an oblong shape extends in parallel. During installation, studs are generally inserted into the mounting through-holes to be connected to the vehicle body. In a case that mounting through-holes are provided, two studs can be inserted to improve reliability of the installation. Of course, the number of the mounting base portion is not limited to two in theory, in view of a volume and installation efficiency of the thermostatic valve, on the premise that requirements for fixing are satisfied, it is convenient for processing and installation by providing two mounting base portions. The principle of providing the gearbox mounting base portion is the same, and will not be described in detail. Herein, center lines of the mounting through-holes of the first mounting base portion <NUM> and the second mounting base portion <NUM> are located in a same horizontal plane. One of the above mounting through-holes is arranged to be an oblong hole, which provides a certain amount of installation allowance, to avoid affection of an assembly error, and improve the installation efficiency. A length of the oblong hole is in a horizontal direction.

The fixing base portion fixed to the gearbox includes the first fixing base portion <NUM> and the second fixing base portion <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the two fixing base portions are arranged at the upper and lower sides of the main valve body <NUM>, respectively. The two fixing base portions are each provided with a threaded hole, in a case that the fixing base portions are mounted to the gearbox system, threaded connections are realized by studs, and an opening of the threaded hole faces a same direction as that of the connecting tube portion.

The first mounting base portion <NUM> and the first fixing base portion <NUM> are arranged between the first connecting tube portion <NUM> and the second connecting tube portion <NUM>. In this case, the reinforcing rib includes reinforcing ribs with rounded corner 40R formed between the first mounting base portion <NUM> and the first fixing base portion <NUM>, and between the first mounting base portion <NUM> and the second connecting tube portion <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, <FIG> is a front view of <FIG>, and <FIG> is a top view of <FIG>.

The first mounting base portion <NUM> is located between the first fixing base portion <NUM> and the second connecting tube portion <NUM>. In this embodiment, the first mounting base portion <NUM> comes into contact with, or intersects with, or is close to the first fixing base portion <NUM> and the straight tube section 10a of the second connecting tube portion <NUM>, the reinforcing ribs are formed after die-casting at positions where the above portions are in contact, intersect or close to each other, that is, the reinforcing ribs with rounded corner 40R in the figure.

Compared with a conventional solution of reinforcing ribs for connection, with the reinforcing ribs with rounded corner 40R, the first mounting base portion <NUM>, the first fixing base portion <NUM> and the second connecting tube portion <NUM> can be connected more closely, moreover, the die-casting performance can be improved, such that the liquid die-casting material may flow better, which reduces the generation of the bubbles, and thereby ensuring the airtightness of the thermostatic valve.

The reinforcing rib further includes a first connecting rib <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, two ends of the first connecting rib <NUM> are connected to the first fixing base portion <NUM> and the first connecting tube portion <NUM>, and a bottom of the first connecting rib <NUM> is connected to the main valve body <NUM>. There is still a certain distance between the first fixing base portion <NUM> and the first connecting tube portion <NUM> in space, in this case, the first connecting rib <NUM> is provided to strengthen the connection and improve the strength, so as to satisfy the strength requirements under the premise of die casting.

As shown in <FIG>, the mounting base portion further includes the second mounting base portion <NUM> for connecting the vehicle body, the second mounting base portion <NUM> is arranged at an outer side of the second connecting tube portion <NUM>. The outer side is defined with respect to the first connecting tube portion <NUM>, an inner side is a side close to the first connecting tube portion <NUM>, and the outer side is a side away from the first connecting tube portion <NUM>. After the second mounting base portion <NUM> is arranged, the reinforcing rib correspondingly includes a second connecting rib <NUM> and a third connecting rib <NUM>. Two ends of the second connecting rib <NUM> are connected to the second mounting base portion <NUM> and the second connecting tube portion <NUM>, respectively, and a bottom of the second connecting rib <NUM> is connected to the main valve body <NUM>. The third connecting rib <NUM> is only connected to the main valve body <NUM> and the second mounting base portion <NUM>, and a section of the third connecting rib <NUM> in the figure is substantially triangular and has a streamlined outer edge. Similarly, the second connecting rib <NUM> and the third connecting rib <NUM> can enhance the strength, and ensure the connection strength and structural reliability between the second mounting base portion <NUM> and the main valve body <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the lower side of the main valve body <NUM> is provided with two connecting tube portions, namely, the third connecting tube portion <NUM> and the fourth connecting tube portion <NUM>, and the second fixing base portion <NUM> configured to be connected to the gearbox system is arranged between the third connecting tube portion <NUM> and the fourth connecting tube portion <NUM>.

In this case, the reinforcing rib further includes a fourth connecting rib <NUM> and a fifth connecting rib <NUM>, the fourth connecting rib <NUM> is connected to the third connecting tube portion <NUM>, the main valve body <NUM> and the second fixing base portion <NUM>, and the fifth connecting rib <NUM> is connected to the fourth connecting tube portion <NUM>, the main valve body <NUM> and the second fixing base portion <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, two ends of each of the fourth connecting rib <NUM> and the fifth connecting rib <NUM> are connected to the connecting tube portions and the second fixing base portion <NUM>, and a top portion of each of the fourth connecting rib <NUM> and the fifth connecting rib <NUM> is connected to the main valve body <NUM>.

It can be seen from the figures that, the connecting rib has a streamlined outer edge after die-casting. In <FIG>, a joint between the connecting rib and the corresponding mounting base portion has an arc-shaped transition, which can reduce stress concentration at a position of the connecting rib after processing, and obtain a good shape. The fourth connecting rib <NUM> and the fifth connecting rib <NUM> provided herein can improve the connection reliability between the connecting tube portions and the second fixing base portion <NUM>.

Preferably, as shown in <FIG>, the first fixing base portion <NUM> and the second fixing base portion <NUM> are each provided with an extending rib <NUM> extending in a length direction thereof, the extending rib <NUM> is arranged at a periphery of the corresponding fixing base portion, and the extending rib <NUM> is connected to the main valve body <NUM>. From a perspective of <FIG>, the gearbox fixing base portion is arranged vertically (the mounting base portion is arranged horizontally), which is consistent with an extending direction of the connecting tube portions. The arrangement of the extending rib <NUM> can improve the strength of the second fixing base portion <NUM>, and ensure the reliability after the threaded connection. It can be seen from <FIG> and <FIG>, two sides of the gearbox mounting base portion are provided with the extending ribs <NUM>.

For the above embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, one end of the main valve body <NUM> is a plane <NUM>, and in a case that the main valve body <NUM> is erected to allow the an axial direction of the main valve body <NUM> to be vertical, the plane <NUM> is a supporting surface. The thermostatic valve shown in the figures is in a horizontal state. From the perspective of <FIG>, in a case that the valve body <NUM> of the thermostatic valve is rotated counterclockwise by <NUM> degrees to be erected, the plane <NUM> at a left end of the main valve body <NUM> is the supporting surface, to allow the whole valve body <NUM> of the thermostatic valve to be supported steadily, so that a stable state can be maintained during assembly, and damages caused by collision can be reduced.

In the above embodiments, the arrangement of various reinforcing ribs (the connecting ribs, extending ribs and reinforcing ribs with rounded corner) enhances the overall strength, improves the die-casting performance, and thus the valve body <NUM> formed by die-casting has a stable structure and good performance.

Claim 1:
A thermostatic valve, comprising a valve body (<NUM>), wherein the valve body (<NUM>) comprises a main valve body (<NUM>) configured to form a valve cavity, and a plurality of connecting tube portions, each of the connecting tube portions comprises a straight tube section (10a) connected to the main valve body (<NUM>); the valve body (<NUM>) further comprises a mounting base portion, the mounting base portion is arranged to be adjacent to the connecting tube portion, and a reinforcing rib is provided between the adjacent straight tube section (10a) of the connecting tube portion and the mounting base portion;
characterized in that,
the valve body (<NUM>) is formed by die casting; and
the mounting base portion is configured for mounting the thermostatic valve to a vehicle body, the main valve body (<NUM>) is further provided with a fixing base portion configured to be fixed to a gearbox;
the mounting base portion comprises a first mounting base portion (<NUM>) and a second mounting base portion (<NUM>), and the fixing base portion comprises a first fixing base portion (<NUM>) and a second fixing base portion (<NUM>);
the main valve body (<NUM>) comprises a first main valve body (500a) and a second main valve body (500b) each having a cylindrical shape, and an outer diameter of the first main valve body (500a) is greater than an outer diameter of the second main valve body (500b);
each of the connecting tube portions also has a cylindrical shape;
the first mounting base portion (<NUM>), the second mounting base portion (<NUM>), the first fixing base portion (<NUM>) and the second fixing base portion (<NUM>) each has a cylindrical shape; and
the first main valve body (500a), the second main valve body (500b), the connecting tube portions, the first mounting base portion (<NUM>), the second mounting base portion (<NUM>), the first fixing base portion (<NUM>) and the second fixing base portion (<NUM>) are integrally formed by die casting.