KR-20260067067-A - ACTIVE AIR FLAP ASSEMBLY AND CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME

Abstract

The present invention relates to an active air flap assembly and a control method thereof, which can control the direction of air flow entering the interior of an engine room or PE room according to a cooling or air conditioning demand. An active air flap assembly according to the present invention comprises: a first flap (21); a second flap (31) arranged parallel to the first flap (21); wherein the first flap (21) and the second flap (31) rotate independently with respect to a first flap rotation axis (21a) and a second flap rotation axis (31a), respectively, and wherein the first flap rotation axis (21a) and the second flap rotation axis (31a) have an axis center that coincides with the axis center of the first flap rotation axis (21a).

Inventors

• 정지민
• 정민식
• 고병주
• 이성진
• 오성동
• 하지훈

Assignees

• 현대자동차주식회사
• 기아 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20241105

Claims (20)

1. In an active air flap assembly, First flap; A second flap positioned parallel to the first flap; The first flap and the second flap rotate independently with respect to the first flap rotation axis and the second flap rotation axis, respectively, wherein the axis centers of the first flap rotation axis and the second flap rotation axis coincide. An active air flap assembly featuring
2. In paragraph 1, The second flap has a flap wing formed on only one side with respect to the second flap rotation axis, and An active air flap assembly characterized in that a flap wing formed on the other side of the second flap rotation axis of the second flap is a part of the first flap.
3. In paragraph 2, A flap installation portion is formed on one side of the first flap, on which the second flap is installed, and The second flap is rotatably installed in the flap installation part. An active air flap assembly featuring
4. In paragraph 1, A connecting projection is formed on either of the first flap rotation axis and the second flap rotation axis, and A connecting groove into which the connecting projection is inserted is formed in the other one of the first flap rotation axis and the second flap rotation axis, The lower end of the second flap rotates independently of the first flap around the first flap rotation axis. An active air flap assembly featuring
5. In paragraph 1, A plurality of the above-mentioned first flaps arranged parallel to each other; A first actuator that rotates a plurality of the first flaps; A first interlocking link connecting the first actuator and a plurality of the first flaps; that forms the first flap unit, including An active air flap assembly featuring
6. In paragraph 5, A plurality of the above-mentioned second flaps arranged parallel to each other; A second actuator that rotates a plurality of the above-mentioned second flaps; A second interlocking link connecting the first actuator and a plurality of the second flaps; It forms a second flap unit including, The second actuator and the second linkage link are positioned on the other side in the width direction of the vehicle from the first actuator and the first linkage link. An active air flap assembly featuring
7. In paragraph 6, Among the plurality of the above-mentioned second flaps, the second flap located at the lowest position is, When the second flap is perpendicular to the ground, its upper end is at the same height as or higher than the upper end of the condenser. An active air flap assembly featuring
8. In paragraph 1, The end in the width direction of the above second flap is located at the end in the width direction of the radiator or condenser. An active air flap assembly featuring
9. In paragraph 8, The above condenser is located in front of the above radiator. An active air flap assembly featuring
10. In paragraph 8, The above radiator is equipped with a low-temperature radiator and a high-temperature radiator through which a cooling water with a higher temperature than the cooling water of the low-temperature radiator flows. The above low-temperature radiator is located in front of the above high-temperature radiator. An active air flap assembly featuring
11. In paragraph 1, If cooling of the radiator is required but cooling of the condenser is not required, The first flap is opened parallel to the ground and the second flap is controlled to open at an upward angle. An active air flap assembly featuring
12. In paragraph 1, If condenser cooling is required but radiator cooling is not required, The first flap is opened parallel to the ground and the second flap is controlled to open at a downward angle. An active air flap assembly featuring
13. In paragraph 1, If cooling of the condenser is required and cooling of the radiator is required, Controlling the first flap to be opened parallel to the ground and the second flap to be opened parallel to the ground An active air flap assembly featuring
14. In paragraph 1, If cooling of the condenser is not required, and cooling of the radiator is not required, Acting both the first flap and the second flap so as to be perpendicular to the ground An active air flap assembly featuring
15. In paragraph 1, If the vehicle is charging, The first flap is opened parallel to the ground and the second flap is controlled to open at an upward angle. An active air flap assembly featuring
16. A method for controlling an active air flap assembly comprising: a first flap; and a second flap disposed parallel to the first flap; wherein the method comprises: a first flap; and a second flap disposed parallel to the first flap. An operating mode determination step for determining the location requiring cooling between the radiator and the condenser; A flap control step for controlling the rotation angles of the first flap and the second flap so that the air flow is concentrated on either the radiator or the condenser, or so that the air passes through both the radiator and the condenser; including Control method of an active air flap assembly.
17. In Paragraph 16, In the above operation mode determination step, If cooling of the above condenser is not required, but cooling of the above radiator is required, The above flap control step is, The above first flap is opened parallel to the ground and the above second flap is opened at an upward slope toward the rear of the vehicle, performing a cooling mode stage. A control method for an active air flap assembly characterized by
18. In Paragraph 16, In the above operation mode determination step, If cooling of the above condenser is required, but cooling of the above radiator is not required, The above flap control step is, The above first flap is opened parallel to the ground and the above second flap is opened at a downward slope toward the rear of the vehicle, performing a cooling mode stage. A control method for an active air flap assembly characterized by
19. In Paragraph 16, In the above operation mode determination step, If cooling of the above radiator is required, and cooling of the above condenser is required, The above flap control step is, The above first flap is opened parallel to the ground and the above second flap is also opened parallel to the ground, and the twin mode step is performed. A control method for an active air flap assembly characterized by
20. In Paragraph 16, In the above operation mode determination step, If cooling of the above radiator is not required, and cooling of the above condenser is not required, The above flap control step is, Performed as a flap closing step in which both the first flap and the second flap are operated to be perpendicular to the ground. A control method for an active air flap assembly characterized by

Description

Active Air Flap Assembly and Control Method of the Same The present invention relates to an active air flap assembly for controlling the inflow of air into the interior of an engine room or PE room of a vehicle, and more specifically, to an active air flap assembly and a method for controlling the same that can control the flow direction of air flowing into the interior of an engine room or PE room according to a cooling or air conditioning requirement. Some vehicles are equipped with an active air flap at the front that opens and closes the inflow of air into the engine room or PE (Power Electric) room. An internal combustion engine vehicle equipped with an engine allows driving air to flow into a radiator that cools the coolant cooling the engine according to the operation of the engine, thereby cooling and circulating the coolant in the radiator. An active air flap that opens and closes the airflow is installed at the front of the engine compartment where the engine is mounted. When cold, it blocks the inflow of air into the engine compartment, thereby promoting the engine's warm-up and reducing driving resistance. Additionally, after the engine has warmed up, driving air is allowed to flow into the interior of the engine compartment to ensure the engine is cooled smoothly. In addition, an active air flap is installed at the front of the PE room in the electric vehicle as well. In the electric vehicle, a radiator is installed inside the PE room—which corresponds to the engine room of the internal combustion engine vehicle—to cool the coolant that cools the inverter, LDC (Low voltage DC-DC Converter), Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU) including the VCU (Vehicle Control Unit), and high-voltage battery system, depending on the vehicle's charging or driving. In the electric vehicle, depending on the temperature of the coolant flowing inside the radiator, the active air flap installed at the front of the PE room is closed to reduce driving resistance, or opened to cool the coolant flowing through the radiator. However, the active air flaps installed in the aforementioned internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles were installed such that multiple flaps opened only to predetermined positions, and thus could not achieve optimal efficiency for cooling or air conditioning. In other words, since the flaps were installed to operate at the same angle between closing and opening, they could not efficiently control the direction of airflow entering the engine room or PE room. An air conditioner condenser is also installed in the engine room or PE room, but when the air flap is opened, the air is designed to flow only along a predetermined path, which resulted in a problem where the radiator and the condenser could not be cooled efficiently. That is, when cooling of the radiator is required, the airflow must be concentrated to the radiator; when cooling of the condenser is required, the airflow must be concentrated to the condenser; or when cooling of both the radiator and the condenser is required simultaneously, the airflow must be appropriately distributed. However, since the flaps are all arranged only at the same angle, it was not possible to selectively concentrate the airflow to the radiator or the condenser. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an active air flap assembly according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating an active air flap assembly according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view illustrating the main part of an active air flap assembly according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of an active air flap assembly according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the state of the active air flap assembly according to the present invention when operating in a cooling mode. FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the state of the active air flap assembly according to the present invention when operating in a cooling mode. FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the state of the active air flap assembly according to the present invention when operating in cooling mode. FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the state of the active air flap assembly according to the present invention when operating in cooling mode. FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the state of the active air flap assembly according to the present invention when operating in twin mode. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the state of the active air flap assembly according to the present invention when operating in twin mode. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an active air flap assembly according to the present invention. The active air flap assembly and the control method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. An active air flap assembly according to the present invent