Heat management device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11745561-B2
Application number	US-202117210204-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2021
Priority date	Apr 1, 2020
Publication date	Sep 5, 2023
Grant date	Sep 5, 2023

Abstract

A heat management device may include: a heat circuit comprising a heat exchanger passage, a radiator passage communicating with the heat exchanger passage, and a battery passage communicating with the heat exchanger passage by bypassing the radiator passage; a heat exchanger cooling heat medium by heat exchange; a radiator exchanging heat between outside air and the heat medium in the radiator passage; a control valve changing a channel of the heat medium in the heat circuit; a pump pumping out the heat medium in the heat circuit from the heat exchanger passage to the battery passage and from the heat exchanger passage to the radiator passage; and a controller. The controller may execute: a heating operation for heating the heat medium in the battery passage by a battery; and a circulation operation for cooling the heat medium in the radiator passage by the radiator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A heat management device configured to be mounted on a vehicle, the heat management device comprising:
a first heat circuit in which a heat medium circulates, the first heat circuit comprising a heat exchanger passage, a radiator passage communicating with the heat exchanger passage, and a battery passage communicating with the heat exchanger passage by bypassing the radiator passage, the radiator passage communicating with the heat exchanger passage by bypassing the battery passage;
a heat exchanger configured to cool the heat medium in the heat exchanger passage by heat exchange;
a battery disposed on the battery passage and configured to be cooled by the battery passage;
a radiator configured to exchange heat between outside air and the heat medium in the radiator passage;
a first control valve configured to change a channel of the heat medium in the first heat circuit;
a first pump configured to pump out the heat medium in the first heat circuit from the heat exchanger passage to the battery passage and from the heat exchanger passage to the radiator passage; and
a controller,
wherein:
the battery passage comprises an upstream end, a downstream end, a first section from the upstream end to the battery, and a second section from the battery to the downstream end;
the heat exchanger passage is directly connected to the downstream end of the battery passage and to a downstream end of the radiator passage at an upstream end of the heat exchanger passage;
a downstream end of the heat exchanger passage is directly connected via only the first control valve (i) to the upstream end of the battery passage and (ii) to an upstream end of the radiator passage;
the controller is configured to execute:
a heating operation by controlling the first control valve and the first pump such that the heat medium in the first heat circuit circulates between the heat exchanger passage and the battery passage so as to heat the heat medium in the battery passage by the battery; and
a circulation operation by controlling the first control valve and the first pump such that the heat medium heated by the heating operation circulates between the heat exchanger passage and the radiator passage without passing through the battery passage so as to cool the heat medium in the radiator passage by the radiator;

the heat management device further comprises a second heat circuit and a third heat circuit;
the second heat circuit, in which a heat medium that is independent from the heat medium circulating in the first heat circuit circulates, comprises:
a chiller passage, a first condenser passage communicating with the chiller passage, and an evaporator passage communicating with the first condenser passage by bypassing the chiller passage, the first condenser passage communicating with the chiller passage by bypassing the evaporator passage;
a compressor disposed in the first condenser passage and configured to supply the heat medium in the first condenser passage downstream while compressing the heat medium in the first condenser passage;
a condenser disposed in the first condenser passage downstream of the compressor and configured to cool the heat medium in the first condenser passage by heat exchange between the heat medium in the first condenser passage and a heat medium in the third heat circuit:
a modulator disposed in the first condenser passage downstream of the condenser and configured to remove air bubbles from the heat medium in the first condenser passage;
a first expansion valve disposed in the evaporator passage and configured to decompress the heat medium in the evaporator passage:
an evaporator disposed in the evaporator passage downstream of the first expansion valve and configured to heat the heat medium in the evaporator passage and cool air in a vehicle cabin by heat exchange between the heat medium in the evaporator passage and the air in the vehicle cabin;
an evaporator pressure regulator disposed in the evaporator passage downstream of the evaporator and configured to control flow rate of the heat medium in the evaporator passage to control the pressure in the evaporator to be approximately constant;
a second expansion valve disposed in the chiller passage and configured to decompress the heat medium in the chiller passage; and
a first three-way valve via which a downstream end of the first condenser passage is connected to an upstream end of the chiller passage and to an upstream end of the evaporator passage:

the heat exchanger is configured to cool the heat medium in the heat exchanger passage and heat the heat medium in the chiller passage by heat exchange between the heat medium in the heat exchanger passage and the heat medium in the chiller passage; and
the controller is further configured to execute:
a battery cooling operation (i) by controlling the first control valve and the first pump in the first heat circuit such that the heat medium in the first heat circuit circulates between the heat exchanger passage and the battery passage so as to heat the heat medium in the battery passage by the battery and (ii) by controlling the first three-way valve and the compressor in the second heat circuit such that the heat medium in the second heat circuit circulates between the chiller passage and the first condenser passage so as to cool the heat medium in the heat exchanger passage and heat the heat medium in the chiller passage by heat exchange between the heat medium in the heat exchanger passage and the heat medium in the chiller passage; and
an air-cooling operation by controlling the first three-way valve and the compressor in the second heat circuit such that the heat medium in the second heat circuit circulates between the evaporator passage and the first condenser passage so as (i) to heat the heat medium in the first condenser passage and cool the heat medium in the third heat circuit and (ii) to heat the heat medium in the evaporator passage and cool the air in the vehicle cabin by heat exchange between the heat medium in the evaporator passage and the air in the vehicle cabin.

2. The heat management device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to prohibit the heating operation in a case where a temperature of the battery is out of a predetermined range, the predetermined range being greater than or equal to 0° C.

3. The heat management device of claim 2 , wherein
the controller is configured to prohibit the heating operation in a case where the temperature of the battery is less than 15° C.

4. The heat management device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to prohibit the circulation operation in a case where a temperature of the heat medium in the first heat circuit is less than 0° C.

5. The heat management device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to simultaneously execute the heating operation and the circulation operation by controlling the first control valve such that the heat medium in the first heat circuit flows from the heat exchanger passage to both the battery passage and the radiator passage.

6. The heat management device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to alternately execute the heating operation and the circulation operation by controlling the first control valve.

7. The heat management device of claim 1 ,
wherein the third heat circuit, in which the heat medium independent from the heat medium circulating in the first heat circuit and the heat medium circulating in the second heat circuit circulates, comprises:
a second condenser passage, a heater core passage communicating with second condenser passage, and a high-temperature radiator passage communicating with the second condenser passage by bypassing the heater core passage, the heat

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd
• Subaru Corp

Inventors

• Hasegawa Yoshio
• Tashiro Hiroki
• Ikegami Makoto

Classifications

• B60H1/00899 Primary

  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 title

• B60H1/04

  from cooling liquid of the plant {(B60H1/025, B60H1/03 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B60H1/32281

  comprising a single secondary circuit, e.g. at evaporator or condenser side · CPC title

• B60H2001/00928

  comprising a secondary circuit · CPC title

• B60H1/00 Primary

  Heating, cooling or ventilating devices · CPC title