Process for cooling drive components and heating the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, especially an electrically driven vehicle, and arrangement for implementing the process

• US 5,725,048 A
• Filed: 08/11/1993
• Issued: 03/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BEHR GmbH & Company KG (MAHLE-STIFTUNG GmbH)
• Original Assignee: BEHR GmbH & Company KG (MAHLE-STIFTUNG GmbH)
• Inventors: Burk, Roland, Loehle, Michael, Heckenberger, Thomas, Krauss, Hans-Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Ford, John K.
• Application Number:
  US08/098,352
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 165/42, 165/43, 165/248, 165/16, 165/236, 165/54, 62/244, 62/95, 62/325, 237/12.3 R, 237/12.3 A, 237/12.3 B
• US Class Current: 165/42
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00392 for electric vehicles having only electric drive means
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/034 from the cooling liquid of the propulsion plant and from an electric heating device

Abstract

In vehicles having drive systems with a highly variable degree of heat generation but in which the total quantity of heat generated is small, the heat given off is inadequate to warm the vehicle properly. The cooling system must nevertheless be designed for the worst-possible operating point, i.e. the greatest amount of heat generated, even if it is generated only briefly. It is the purpose of the present development to make the best possibly exergetic use of the available energy sources while ensuring that the drive components are cooled. The air extracted from the passenger compartment (1) comprises a proportion of exhaust air and one of recirculated air, where the recirculated air is heated in the heat exchanger (9) for the cooling circuit (16) of the drive system and taken to the passenger compartment. The system is particularly suitable for electric vehicles, vehicles with hydrogen and hybrid drives and vehicles developing little heat.

Claims

1. A device for cooling drive components and for controlling a temperature inside a passenger compartment, of a motor vehicle, comprising:

a cooling circuit through which a coolant is circulated for cooling the drive components;

a refrigerant circuit including a condenser and an evaporator; and

an air-guide duct through which an air current is circulated and arranged to exchange heat with said cooling circuit and said refrigerant circuit, said air-guide duct extending from an outflow opening of the passenger compartment to an intake-air opening thereof, said air-guide duct including

an inflow air-current control element for mixing the air current from said passenger compartment with a fresh air flow,

a heat exchanger, disposed downstream of said inflow air-current control element, for transferring heat from said coolant of said cooling circuit to the mixed air current of the air-guide duct,

an outflow air-current control element, disposed downstream of said heat exchanger, for dividing the mixed air current of the air-guide duct into an air component introduced into the passenger compartment and an exhaust air component drawn off into the environment, and

a bypass duct having a first end disposed upstream of the inflow air-current control element and a second end connected to said outflow air-current control element such that a bypass flow of said bypass duct is introduced into the passenger compartment and said mixed air current is drawn off into the environment,

wherein said evaporator is disposed upstream of the inflow air-current control element and said condenser is disposed downstream of the inflow air-current control element but upstream of the outflow air-current control element.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said air-guide duct further includes a blower for maintaining the air current through said air-guide duct.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said air-guide duct further includes a flow quantity divider disposed downstream of said evaporator but upstream of said inflow air-current control element, said flow quantity divider having an output connected to said inflow air-current control element, said bypass duct, and an exhaust duct.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said air-guide duct further includes a heat source disposed downstream of said outflow air-current control element.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein said heat source is an electric booster heater.

6. A temperature control device for an electric vehicle, comprising:

an electric motor;

a cooling circuit through which coolant is circulated through drive components of the electric motor;

a refrigerant circuit including an evaporator and a condenser;

an air-guide duct through which an air current is circulated, said air-guide duct extending from an outflow opening of the passenger compartment to an intake-air opening thereof;

inflow air-current control element which controls a mixing of the air current from the passenger compartment with a fresh air flow;

a heat exchanger, disposed downstream of the inflow air-current control element, for transferring heat from said coolant of said cooling circuit to the air current of the air-guide duct; and

outflow air-current control element, disposed downstream of said heat exchanger, for dividing the air current circulated through the heat exchanger into an air component introduced into the passenger compartment and an exhaust air component drawn off into the environment,

wherein the air-guide duct is divided into at least three sections, a first section extending from the passenger compartment to the inflow air-current control element, a second section connecting the inflow air-current control element to the outflow air-current control element, and a third section extending from the outflow air-current control element to the passenger compartment, and includes a bypass duct having a first end disposed in the first section and a second end connected to the outflow air-current control element,

wherein the outflow air-current control element transmits a bypass flow of the bypass duct as the air component introduced into the passenger compartment and transmits the air current circulated through the heat exchanger as the exhaust air component, and

wherein the evaporator is disposed in the first section and the condenser is disposed in the second section.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the air-guide duct includes a blower for maintaining the air current through the air-guide duct.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the air-guide duct further includes a heat source disposed downstream of the heat exchanger.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the heat source is an electric booster heater.

10. The device according to claim 6, wherein the air-guide duct further includes a flow quantity divider disposed downstream of the evaporator but upstream of the inflow air-current control element, the flow quantity divider having an output connected to the inflow air-current control element, the bypass duct, and an exhaust duct.