Heat Pump System with Multi-Way-Position Valve

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019226737-A1
Application number	US-201815877432-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 23, 2018
Priority date	Jan 23, 2018
Publication date	Jul 25, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A vehicle heat pump system including a thermal loop, an eight-way valve, and a controller is provided. The thermal loop includes a compressor, a first portion, and a second portion. The first portion includes an outside heat exchanger. The second portion includes a cabin heat exchanger. The eight-way valve is downstream of the compressor and has a first position in which refrigerant flows within the portions in a cooling mode and a second position in which refrigerant flows within the portions in a heating mode. The controller switches the eight-way valve between the first and second positions. The outside heat exchanger operates as a condenser in the cooling mode and the eight-way valve directs refrigerant flow from the outside heat exchanger to the cabin heat exchanger.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle heat pump system comprising:
a thermal loop including a compressor; a first portion of a thermal loop including an outside heat exchanger; a second portion of the thermal loop including a cabin heat exchanger; an eight-way valve downstream of the compressor and having a first position in which refrigerant flows within the portions in a cooling mode and a second position in which refrigerant flows within the portions in a heating mode; and a controller to switch the eight-way valve between the first and second positions, wherein the outside heat exchanger operates as a condenser in the cooling mode and the eight-way valve directs refrigerant flow from the outside heat exchanger to the cabin heat exchanger, and wherein the outside heat exchanger operates as an evaporator in the heating mode and the eight-way valve directs refrigerant flow from the cabin heat exchanger to the outside heat exchanger.

2 . The system of claim 1 further comprising:
an airside heater to supplement heat for delivery to a vehicle cabin in the heating mode when a sensor detects a temperature below a predetermined threshold or to reheat dehumidified air to a predetermined temperature in a dehumidification and reheat mode; and
a blend door to control temperature of air supplied to the vehicle cabin.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the portions further comprise an expansion device to reduce a pressure of refrigerant flow, an internal heat exchanger upstream of the expansion device, a flash tank downstream of the expansion device to separate vapor-liquid mixture, and a control valve downstream of the flash tank to balance a pressure of the refrigerant flowing from the flash tank and the eight-way valve.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the eight-way valve includes a valve housing having eight ports.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the eight-way valve is arranged with the first portion and the second portion to influence a transitioning phase state of the refrigerant in which components of the portions are arranged with one another to influence a transitioning phase state of the refrigerant in which the refrigerant is in a liquid or liquid-vapor mixture form when flowing toward the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode and the refrigerant is in a vapor form when flowing toward the cabin heat exchanger in the heating mode.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant is one of R134a, R1234yf, R152a, R410A, hydrocarbons, ammonia, and R744.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the second portion of the thermal loop further includes a flash tank arranged with the eight-way valve to substantially remove vapor from the refrigerant such that the refrigerant is substantially entirely liquid when entering the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode or entering the outside heat exchanger in the heating mode.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the thermal loop includes only two heat exchangers and only one expansion device.

9 . A vehicle heat pump system comprising:
a compressor configured to increase refrigerant pressure through an outside heat exchanger in a cooling mode that defines a first position of a multi-position valve, and to increase refrigerant pressure through a cabin heat exchanger in a heating mode that defines a second position of the multi-position valve, wherein the compressor and multi-position valve are arranged such that refrigerant pressure is substantially same in the cooling and heating modes.

10 . The system of claim 9 further comprising an expansion device, a flash tank, and a control valve arranged with one another to balance a pressure of refrigerant flowing into and out of the heat exchangers.

11 . The system of claim 9 further comprising a sensor, a controller, and an airside heater in fluid communication with the cabin heat exchanger, wherein the controller is programmed to activate the airside heater to provide supplemental heat to a vehicle cabin responsive to the sensor detecting a temperature below a predetermined threshold.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein refrigerant associated with the refrigerant pressure is one of R134a, R1234yf, R152a, R410A, hydrocarbons, ammonia, and R744.

13 . The system of claim 9 further comprising a flash tank and a cabin heat exchanger, and wherein the flash tank is arranged with the multi-position valve such that refrigerant is substantially entirely liquid when entering the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode.

14 . The system of claim 9 further comprising only two heat exchangers and only one expansion device.

15 . A vehicle heat pump system comprising:
a pair of conduit portions of a thermal loop and components in fluid communication with one another including only one internal heat exchanger, a compressor, an outside heat exchanger, a cabin heat exchanger, only one expansion device, a flash tank, only one control valve, and an eight-way valve arranged within the pair of conduit portions to switch between a first position in a cooling mode and a second position in a heating mode, wherein refrigerant flows directly from the outside heat exchanger to the internal heat exchanger in the cooling mode and the refrigerant flowing from the outside heat exchanger in the heating mode is pressure-balanced by the only one control valve en route to the internal heat exchanger in the heating mode.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein refrigerant flows directly from the compressor to the outside heat exchanger in the cooling mode and the refrigerant flows directly from the compressor to the cabin heat exchanger in the heating mode.

17 . The system of claim 15 further comprising an airside heater, wherein the airside heater supplements heat distribution to a vehicle cabin in the heating mode when the cabin heat exchanger operates as a condenser or reheats dehumidified air to a predetermined temperature in a dehumidification and reheat mode when the cabin heat exchanger operates as an evaporator.

18 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the outside heat exchanger operates as a condenser in the cooling mode and operates as an evaporator in the heating mode.

19 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the flash tank is arranged with the eight-way valve such that refrigerant flowing to the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode or to the outside heat exchanger in the heating mode is substantially only liquid.

20 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the eight-way valve includes a valve housing having eight ports, a first pair of the eight ports disposed on a first side of the valve housing located opposite a second pair of the eight ports disposed on a second side of the valve housing, and wherein four ports of the eight ports are disposed on a third side of the valve housing.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• He Jing
• Lohmeyer Loren John
• Johnston William Stewart
• Patti Angelo

Classifications

• B60H1/00007

  Combined heating, ventilating, or cooling devices (control systems or mechanisms B60H1/00642) · CPC title

• B60H1/00735

  Control systems or circuits characterised by their input, i.e. by the detection, measurement or calculation of particular conditions, e.g. signal treatment, dynamic models · CPC title

• B60H1/00899

  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 title

• B60H1/00907 Primary

  where the flow direction of the refrigerant changes and an evaporator becomes condenser · CPC title

• F25B40/00

  Subcoolers, desuperheaters or superheaters · CPC title