VEHICLE HEAT PUMP SYSTEM AND METHOD UTILIZING THERMAL STORAGE

• US 20140208789A1
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Published: 07/31/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Lombardo, Paul S., Ziehr, Lawrence P., Lemon, Brian P., Nemesh, Mark D., Styles, Bryan M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,327,577 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/238.6
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00007 Combined heating, ventilating, or cooling devices control systems or mechanisms B60H1/00642
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00278 for the battery arrangement of batteries B60R16/04
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00807 the input being a specific way of measuring or calculating an air or coolant temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00899 Controlling the flow of liquid in a heat pump system controlling the properties of the refrigerant liquid, e.g. pressure or temperature, B60H1/3204
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/00307 Component temperature regulation using a liquid flow
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/00949 comprising additional heating/cooling sources, e.g. second evaporator
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2339/047 Water-cooled condensers
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/24 Storage receiver heat
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 25/005 using primary and secondary systems
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 41/39 Dispositions with two or more expansion means arranged in series, i.e. multi-stage expansion, on a refrigerant line leading to the same evaporator
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 5/02 arranged in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 6/02 arranged in parallel

Abstract

A heat pump system for use in a vehicle having a passenger compartment, and a thermal storage medium is provided. A method for providing heat to a vehicle passenger compartment is also provided. The vehicle may have an electric only vehicle mode wherein the vehicle may occupy one of an active electric drive state and an inactive state. The heat pump system may include a thermal storage medium configured to store heat produced during the inactive state. The thermal storage medium may be a device which has a thermal capacity exchangeable with a fluid medium such as an Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS) or a phase change material. The heat stored by the thermal storage medium during the vehicle charge event may be transmitted from the thermal storage medium to the passenger compartment via the heat pump system during the active electric drive state.

Claims

1. A heat pump system for use in a vehicle having a passenger compartment for receiving conditioned air, an engine, and a chargeable battery, the system comprising:

a thermal storage medium configured to store heat produced by charging the vehicle battery pack;

a first coolant circuit configured to circulate a first coolant to absorb the stored heat from the thermal storage medium;

a refrigeration circuit configured to circulate a refrigerant configured to absorb stored heat from the first coolant and further configured for conditioning the air to be received by the passenger compartment;

a first heat exchanger configured to exchange stored heat from the first coolant circulating within the first coolant circuit to the refrigerant circulating within the refrigeration circuit;

a second coolant circuit configured to circulate a second coolant configured to absorb heat from the refrigerant and further configured for further conditioning air to be received by the passenger compartment;

a second heat exchanger configured to exchange the heat absorbed by the refrigerant within the refrigeration circuit from the first coolant within the first coolant circuit to the second coolant within the second coolant circuit; and

wherein the heat stored in the thermal storage medium is transferred to the conditioned air received by the passenger compartment via the first coolant circuit, the refrigeration circuit, and the second coolant circuit.

2. The heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle has one of an active drive state and an inactive state.

3. The heat pump system of claim 2 wherein the thermal storage medium stores heat produced during the inactive state;

and wherein the heat stored in the thermal storage medium during the inactive state is transferred to the vehicle passenger compartment via the first coolant circuit, the refrigeration circuit, and the second coolant circuit during the active drive state.

4. The heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the thermal storage medium is a thermal storage device which has a thermal capacity exchangeable with a fluid medium.

5. The heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the thermal storage medium is a Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS), which houses the vehicle battery.

6. The heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the thermal storage medium is a phase change material.

7. The heat pump system of claim 6 wherein the phase change material is one of an eutectic, salt hydrate, and organic material.

8. The heat pump system of claim 6 wherein the phase change material is positioned about the vehicle battery.

9. The heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the first coolant circuit includes:

a heater configured to heat the first coolant;

the thermal storage medium wherein the first coolant absorbs the heat stored within the thermal storage medium; and

the first heat exchanger having a first coolant cavity and a refrigerant cavity, wherein the first heat exchanger exchanges heat between the first coolant flowing through the first coolant cavity and the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant cavity.

10. The heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the refrigeration circuit includes:

a compressor configured to compress the refrigerant;

the second heat exchanger having a refrigerant cavity and a coolant cavity, the second heat exchanger configured to cool and condense the refrigerant; and

wherein heat is exchanged between the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant cavity and the second coolant flowing through the coolant cavity of the second heat exchanger.

11. The heat pump system of claim 10 wherein the refrigeration circuit further includes:

a first expansion device configured to receive refrigerant from the refrigerant cavity of the second heat exchanger and further configured to allow the refrigerant to cool and expand; and

the first heat exchanger configured to receive refrigerant from the first expansion device and expel refrigerant to the compressor, the first heat exchanger further configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant and the first coolant.

12. The heat pump system of claim 10 wherein the refrigeration circuit further includes:

a second expansion device configured to receive refrigerant from the refrigerant cavity of the second heat exchanger and further configured to allow the refrigerant to cool and expand; and

a third heat exchanger configured to receive refrigerant from the second expansion device and expel refrigerant to the compressor, the third heat exchanger further configured to exchange heat from the refrigerant to the air flowing across the third heat exchanger and to the passenger compartment to cool and dehumidify the passenger compartment.

13. The heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the second coolant circuit includes:

a heater core configured to heat air flowing across the heater core and into the passenger compartment;

the second heat exchanger having a refrigerant cavity and a coolant cavity, the second heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant cavity and the second coolant flowing through the coolant cavity; and

a bypass valve configured to receive the second coolant from the coolant heater core and further configured to direct the second coolant to one of the second heat exchanger and the engine.

14. The heat pump system of claim 13 wherein the bypass valve directs refrigerant to the second heat exchanger to bypass the engine.

15. The heat pump system of claim 13 wherein the bypass valve directs the second coolant to the engine.

16. A method of heating a vehicle passenger compartment comprising the steps of:

storing heat in a thermal storage medium; and

transferring heat from the thermal storage medium to the vehicle passenger compartment to heat the vehicle passenger compartment.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein transferring heat from the thermal storage medium to the vehicle passenger compartment includes the steps of:

absorbing the heat stored in the thermal storage medium with a first coolant circulated through a first coolant circuit;

exchanging heat between the first coolant and a refrigerant flowing through a refrigeration circuit with a first heat exchanger;

transferring heat from the refrigerant flowing through the refrigeration circuit to a second coolant flowing through a second coolant circuit with a second heat exchanger;

circulating the second coolant through a heater core; and

transferring heat from the second coolant and the heater core to the air flowing across the heater core and into the vehicle passenger compartment to heat the vehicle passenger compartment.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the vehicle has an active electric drive state and an inactive electric charging;

and wherein heat is stored in the thermal storage medium during the inactive electric charging state and wherein heat is transferred from the thermal storage medium to the vehicle passenger compartment during the active electric drive state.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the thermal storage medium is an RESS.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the thermal storage medium is a phase change material.