Thermal management system for vehicle

• US 9,604,627 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2014
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Omi, Yasumitsu, Miura, Koji, Enomoto, Norihiko, Yamanaka, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): SWENSON, BRIAN L
• Application Number:
  US15/108,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20160318499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/00899 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 1/32284 comprising two or more secondary circuits, e.g. at evaporator and condenser side
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/00307 Component temperature regulation using a liquid flow
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/04 of the electric storage means for propulsion exchanging batteries for electric propulsion of vehicles B60L53/80; for auxiliary purposes only B60R16/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/005 the electric storage means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/02 to electric heating circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/34 Cabin temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/445 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/30 including control of auxiliary equipment, e.g. air-conditioning compressors or oil pumps
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/246 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2005/105 Using two or more pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2037/02 : starting
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2050/24 : Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/08 : Cabin heater
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/18 : Heater
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 3/20 : Cooling circuits not specific to a single part of engine or machine F01P3/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 5/10 : Pumping liquid coolant; Arrangements of coolant pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 9/06 : by use of refrigerating apparatus, e.g. of compressor or absorber type
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/903 : having energy storing means, e.g. battery, capacitor

Abstract

A controller of a thermal management system for a vehicle controls a first switching valve and a second switching valve to set a battery warming-up state in which a heat medium circulates between a battery-temperature adjustment heat exchanger and a heat-medium heating heat exchanger, and the heat medium does not circulate between a coolant-coolant heat exchanger and a heat-medium heating heat exchanger when both a battery and an engine need to be warmed up. In contrast, the controller controls the first switching valve and the second switching valve to set an engine warming-up state in which the heat medium circulates through between the coolant-coolant heat exchanger and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger while the heat medium does not circulate between a battery-temperature adjustment heat exchanger and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger when a temperature of the battery exceeds a target battery warming-up temperature in the battery warming-up state.

Claims

1. A thermal management system for a vehicle, comprising:

a first pump and a second pump, which are adapted to draw and discharge a heat medium;

a compressor adapted to draw and discharge a refrigerant;

a heat-medium heating heat exchanger that heats the heat medium by exchanging heat between the refrigerant discharged from the compressor and the heat medium drawn into and discharged from the second pump;

a decompressor that decompresses and expands the refrigerant flowing out of the heat-medium heating heat exchanger;

a heat-medium cooling heat exchanger that cools the heat medium by exchanging heat between the refrigerant decompressed and expanded by the decompressor and the heat medium drawn into and discharged from the first pump;

a heat medium-outside air heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the heat medium cooled by the heat-medium cooling heat exchanger and outside air;

an air heating heat exchanger that heats ventilation air into a vehicle interior by exchanging sensible heat between the heat medium heated by the heat-medium heating heat exchanger and the ventilation air;

an engine heat transfer portion that transfers heat between an engine outputting a traveling driving force and the heat medium;

a battery heat transfer portion that transfers heat between a battery supplying electric power to a traveling electric motor and the heat medium;

a switching device that switches between a state in which the heat medium circulates through the heat-medium heating heat exchanger and a state in which the heat medium does not circulate through the heat-medium heating heat exchanger with respect to each of the engine heat transfer portion and the battery heat transfer portion; and

a controller that controls the switching device (i) to set a battery warming-up state in which the heat medium circulates between the battery heat transfer portion and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger while the heat medium does not circulate between the engine heat transfer portion and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger when both the battery and engine need to be warmed up; and

(ii) to set an engine warming-up state in which the heat medium circulates between the engine heat transfer portion and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger while the heat medium does not circulate between the battery heat transfer portion and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger when a temperature of the battery exceeds a target battery warming-up temperature in the battery warming-up state.

2. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the battery stores a regenerated energy from the vehicle, and

the controller sets the target battery warming-up temperature to a higher value when a state of charge of the battery is higher than the first state-of-charge threshold, compared to that when a state of charge of the battery is lower than the first state-of-charge threshold.

3. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the controller determines the first state-of-charge threshold to be a higher value as the temperature of the battery is lowered.

4. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the controller determines the first state-of-charge threshold based on a route plan output from a car navigation system.

5. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the switching device is adapted to switch between a state in which the heat medium circulates and a state in which the heat medium does not circulate, between the air heating heat exchanger and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger, and

the controller controls the switching device in such a manner that the heat medium does not circulate between the air heating heat exchanger and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger, when the heat medium circulates between the battery heat transfer portion and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger while the battery temperature is equal to or lower than a battery temperature threshold.

6. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the controller controls the switching device in such a manner that the heat medium circulates between the engine heat transfer portion and the heat-medium heating heat exchanger when the battery temperature reaches the target battery warming-up temperature, and a state of charge of the battery is lower than a second state-of-charge threshold.

7. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 6, wherein

the controller determines the second state-of-charge threshold to be a higher value as the temperature of the engine is lowered.

8. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 6, further comprising:

a device heat transfer portion that transfers heat between the heat medium and a heat generating device in which an amount of generated heat changes depending on a traveling state of the vehicle, wherein

the device heat transfer portion allows the heat medium to circulate between the heat-medium cooling heat exchanger and the device heat transfer portion, and

the controller determines the second state-of-charge threshold based on a route plan output from a car navigation system.

9. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a device heat transfer portion that transfers heat between a device generating heat during operation and the heat medium, wherein

the device heat transfer portion allows the heat medium to circulate between the heat-medium cooling heat exchanger and the device heat transfer portion.