Heat pump system for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11318816-B2
Application number	US-202016738421-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 9, 2020
Priority date	Sep 2, 2019
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

A heat pump system for a vehicle may adjust a temperature of a battery module by use of one chiller that performs heat exchange between a refrigerant and a coolant, and improve heating efficiency by use of waste heat generated from an electrical component and the battery module, in increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant by operating the gas injection unit in the heating mode or the heating/dehumidification mode of the vehicle, thereby reducing power consumption of a compressor and maximizing heating performance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A heat pump system for a vehicle, the system including:
a cooling apparatus including a radiator, a first water pump, a first valve, and a reservoir tank wherein the radiator, the first water pump, the first valve, and the reservoir tank are connected through a coolant line, and configured to circulate a coolant in the coolant line to cool at least one electrical component mounted in the coolant line;
a battery cooling apparatus including a battery coolant line connected to the reservoir tank through a second valve, and a second water pump and a battery module wherein the second water pump and the battery module are connected through the battery coolant line to circulate the coolant in the battery module;
a heating apparatus including a heating line connected to the coolant line through a third valve to heat a vehicle interior by use of the coolant and a third water pump mounted on the heating line, and a heater;
a chiller mounted in a branch line connected to the battery coolant line through the second valve, and connected to a refrigerant line of an air conditioner through a refrigerant connection line, to adjust a temperature of the coolant by performing heat exchange between the coolant selectively introduced into a connection line connecting the coolant line and the branch line through the first valve, and the branch line and a refrigerant selectively supplied from the air conditioner; and
a gas injection unit mounted in the air conditioner and bypassing a portion of the refrigerant passing through the condenser connected to the heating line, to the condenser, so as to increase a flow rate of the refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant line.

2. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein a first end portion of the connection line is connected to the coolant line through the first valve and a second end portion of the connection line is connected to the between the second valve and the chiller, and
wherein the heater is mounted inside a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) module included in the air conditioner.

3. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 2 , wherein
when the battery module is heated,
the connection line is opened in a state in which the coolant line connected to the radiator is closed through operation of the first valve,
the branch line is opened through an operation of the second valve,
a portion of the battery coolant line connected to the reservoir tank is closed based on the branch line,
the coolant is configured to circulate along the battery coolant line and the branch line through operation of the second water pump,
in the heating apparatus, the coolant line and the heating line are connected through operation of the third valve, in the cooling apparatus, the coolant with the temperature increased by waste heat of the at least one electrical component is configured to circulate through the heating line through operation of the third water pump, and
a heated coolant introduced from the heating line and the coolant line is configured to be flowed into the branch line from the coolant line through the connection line, and is configured to be supplied to the battery module connected through the battery coolant line and the branch line.

4. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the air conditioner includes:
a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning module including an evaporator connected to the refrigerant line and a door configured to control outside air passing through the evaporator to be selectively introduced into the heater depending on a cooling mode, a heating mode, and a heating/dehumidifying mode of the vehicle;
the condenser connected to the heating line to circulate the coolant in the heating line to perform heat exchange between the coolant and a refrigerant supplied through the refrigerant line;
a compressor connected between the evaporator and the condenser through the refrigerant line;
a first heat exchanger mounted on the refrigerant line between the condenser and the evaporator;
a first expansion valve mounted in the refrigerant line between the first heat exchanger and the evaporator;
a second expansion valve mounted in the refrigerant connection line;
an accumulator mounted in the refrigerant line between the evaporator and the compressor and connected to the refrigerant connection line; and
a third expansion valve mounted in the refrigerant line between the condenser and the heat exchanger.

5. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the first heat exchanger is configured to condense or evaporate the refrigerant condensed in the condenser through heat exchange with the outside air depending on a selective operation of the third expansion valve.

6. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the second expansion valve is configured to expand the refrigerant inflowed through the refrigerant connection line to flow to the chiller when cooling the battery module by the coolant heat-exchanged with the refrigerant.

7. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the third expansion valve is configured to selectively expand the refrigerant inflowed to the first heat exchanger in the heating mode and the heating/dehumidification mode of the vehicle.

8. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the gas injection unit includes:
a second heat exchanger mounted on the refrigerant line between the condenser and the heat exchanger;
a bypass line having a first end portion connected to the refrigerant line between the condenser and the second heat exchanger, and a second end portion connected to the compressor by passing through the second heat exchanger; and
a fourth expansion valve mounted on the bypass line at a front of the second heat exchanger.

9. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the fourth expansion valve is configured to expand the refrigerant inflowed to the bypass line through the condenser in the heating mode or the heating/dehumidification mode of the vehicle.

10. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the gas injection unit includes:
a flash tank mounted on the refrigerant line between the condenser and the first heat exchanger and dividing the refrigerant passing through the condenser into a gaseous refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant to be selectively exhausted;
a bypass line connecting the flash tank and the compressor, and selectively suppling the refrigerant of the gaseous state from the flash tank to the compressor;
a bypass valve mounted on the bypass line; and
a fourth expansion valve mounted on the refrigerant line between the condenser and the flash tank.

11. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the fourth expansion valve is configured to expand the refrigerant inflowed to the bypass line through the condenser in the heating mode or the heating/dehumidification mode of the vehicle.

12. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 4 ,
wherein the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning module further includes an air heater mounted at a side of the evaporator, with the heater interposed therebetween to selectively heat outside air passing through the heater, and
wherein the air heater is configured to be operated to raise a temperature of the outside air passing through the heater when a temperature of the coolant supplied to the heater is lower than a target temperature for internal heating.

13. The heat pump system for the vehicle of claim 4 , wherein
when the battery module is cooled in the cooling mode of the vehicle,
the coolant circulates through

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Motors Corp

Inventors

• Kim Jae Yeon
• Cho Wan Je

Classifications

• Y02T10/70

  Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries · CPC title

• B60H1/143

  the heat being derived from cooling an electric component, e.g. electric motors, electric circuits, fuel cells or batteries · CPC title

• B60H1/3213 Primary

  for increasing the efficiency in a vehicle heat pump · CPC title

• B60H1/00335

  of the gas-air type (B60H1/18 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B60H1/00885

  Controlling the flow of heating or cooling liquid, e.g. valves or pumps (B60H1/00899 takes precedence; constructions of valves B60H1/00485) · CPC title