Thermal management system for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12522044-B2
Application number	US-202318179898-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 7, 2023
Priority date	Oct 4, 2022
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

An embodiment is a thermal management system for a vehicle, the thermal management system including a main refrigerant line in which a compressor, an indoor condenser, a first expansion valve, an outdoor condenser, a second expansion valve, and an indoor evaporator are sequentially provided, a battery cooling water line in which a battery, the chiller for a battery, and a water pump for a battery are sequentially provided, a refrigerant heater disposed between the compressor and the indoor condenser on the main refrigerant line, and a controller configured to control operations of the compressor and the refrigerant heater, control opening and closing of the first expansion valve and the second expansion valve, control operations of the water pump for an electric component and the water pump for a battery, and control flow paths of the refrigerant, the cooling water for an electric component, and the cooling water for a battery.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A thermal management system for a vehicle, the thermal management system comprising:
a main refrigerant line in which a compressor, an indoor condenser, a first expansion valve, an outdoor condenser, a second expansion valve, and an indoor evaporator are sequentially provided, the main refrigerant line configured to circulate a refrigerant for air conditioning to perform heat exchange; a branch refrigerant line which branches from a downstream point of the indoor condenser, passes through a chiller for a battery and a chiller for an electric component, and is introduced into the compressor; a battery cooling water line in which the battery, the chiller for the battery, and a water pump for the battery are sequentially provided and which is connected such that cooling water for the battery is circulated and absorbs heat while being selectively heat-exchanged with a refrigerant flowing from the chiller for the battery to the branch refrigerant line; an electric component cooling water line in which the electric component, the chiller for the electric component, and a water pump for the electric component are sequentially provided and which is connected such that cooling water for the electric component is circulated and radiates heat while being selectively heat-exchanged with the refrigerant flowing from the chiller for the electric component to the branch refrigerant line; a refrigerant heater disposed between the compressor and the indoor condenser on the main refrigerant line and configured to selectively heat the refrigerant; and a controller configured to control operations of the compressor and the refrigerant heater, control opening and closing of the first expansion valve and the second expansion valve and opening degrees thereof, control operations of the water pump for the electric component and the water pump for the battery, and control flow paths of the refrigerant, the cooling water for the electric component, and the cooling water for the battery.

2 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , wherein in the branch refrigerant line, a third expansion valve is provided at an upstream point of the chiller for the battery, and a fourth expansion valve is provided at an upstream point of the chiller for the electric component; and
the controller controls opening and closing of the third expansion valve and the fourth expansion valve and opening degrees thereof.

3 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater configured to perform indoor heating, wherein the PTC heater is not disposed on the main refrigerant line; and a water heating heater configured to increase a temperature of the battery, wherein the water heating heater is not disposed on the battery cooling water line.

4 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant heater is integrally provided at a rear end of the compressor.

5 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , wherein:
the refrigerant heater is separately provided from the compressor at a downstream point of the compressor, the compressor and the refrigerant heater are connected to a flow path member for high temperature and high pressure so that a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant flows, and an outer side of the flow path member is covered by an insulating member.

6 . The thermal management system of claim 5 , wherein the flow path member includes a pipe or a hose; and the insulating member includes resin foam.

7 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant heater is integrally provided at a front end of the indoor condenser.

8 . The thermal management system of claim 2 , wherein, in a first heating mode in which waste heat is recovered from the electric component to perform indoor heating, the controller allows compressed refrigerant to be heated while passing through the refrigerant heater, to radiate heat while passing through the indoor condenser to heat an interior, to pass through the chiller for the battery, to absorb heat from the cooling water for the electric component while passing through the chiller for the electric component, and then to be circulated to the compressor.

9 . The thermal management system of claim 8 , wherein, in the first heating mode, the controller is configured to:
operate the compressor and the refrigerant heater to allow the compressed refrigerant to be heated while passing through the refrigerant heater; fully close the first expansion valve and the second expansion valve to allow the refrigerant radiating heat while passing through the indoor condenser to flow to the branch refrigerant line; fully open the third expansion valve and stop the operation of the water pump for the battery to allow the refrigerant radiating heat while passing through the indoor condenser to directly pass through the chiller for the battery without heat exchange; and partially open the fourth expansion valve and operate the water pump for the electric component to allow the refrigerant radiating heat while passing through the indoor condenser to be expanded while passing through the fourth expansion valve and to absorb heat from the cooling water for the electric component in the chiller for the electric component.

10 . The thermal management system of claim 2 , wherein, in a second heating mode in which a temperature of the battery is increased while indoor heating is performed by absorbing heat from indoor air, the controller is configured to allow:
compressed refrigerant to be heated while passing through the refrigerant heater and then to radiate heat while passing through the indoor condenser to heat an interior; some of the compressed refrigerant to radiate heat while passing through the chiller for the battery to increase a temperature of the cooling water for the battery, to be expanded while passing through the fourth expansion valve, and then to be circulated to the compressor; and a remaining of the compressed refrigerant to be expanded while passing through the second expansion valve, to absorb heat while passing through the indoor evaporator, and then to be circulated to the compressor.

11 . The thermal management system of claim 10 , wherein in the second heating mode, the controller is configured to:
operate the compressor and the refrigerant heater to allow the compressed refrigerant to be heated while passing through the refrigerant heater; fully open the third expansion valve, partially open the fourth expansion valve, operate the water pump for the battery, and stop the operation of the water pump for the electric component to allow some of the compressed refrigerant radiating heat while passing through the indoor condenser to increase the temperature of the cooling water for the battery and then to be expanded while passing through the fourth expansion valve; and fully open the first expansion valve and partially open the second expansion valve to allow the remainder of the compressed refrigerant radiating heat while passing through the indoor condenser to pass through the outdoor condenser, to be expanded while passing through the second expansion valve, and then to absorb heat from indoor air while passing through the indoor evaporator.

12 . The thermal management system of claim 2 , wherein, in a third heating mode in which a temperature of the battery is increased while indoor heating is performed by absorbing heat from outdoor air, the controller is configured to allow:
compressed refrigerant to be heated while passing through the refrigerant heater and then to radiate heat while passing through the indoor condenser to

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Corp

Inventors

• Oh Man Ju
• Yang Uk Il
• Kim Ki Mok
• Lee Sang Shin

Classifications

• B60H1/2215

  the heat being derived from electric heaters · CPC title

• B60H2001/00928

  comprising a secondary circuit · CPC title

• B60H2001/00949

  comprising additional heating/cooling sources, e.g. second evaporator · 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

• B60Y2200/91

  Electric vehicles · CPC title