Thermal management system, control method therefor, and compressor included therein

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024123790-A1
Application number	US-202218547159-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 22, 2022
Priority date	Apr 2, 2021
Publication date	Apr 18, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

A thermal management system, a method of controlling the same, a compressor included in the same in which the thermal management system and the method of controlling the thermal management system determine whether the current state is a low-refrigerant state in which a refrigerant amount is smaller than a reference refrigerant amount on the basis of a degree of superheat or a degree of supercooling detected from a pressure and temperature of a refrigerant when a battery thermal management mode is operated and operations of cooling and heating a vehicle interior do not operate. The compressor is included in the thermal management system and configured as an electric compressor configured to be controlled by the control method. Therefore, it is possible to easily recognize whether the current state is the low-refrigerant state in which the refrigerant amount is smaller than the reference refrigerant amount.

First claim

1 . A thermal management system comprising:
a coolant circuit having a circulating coolant, and a battery heat exchanger configured to allow the coolant to exchange heat with a battery of a vehicle; a refrigerant circuit including a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant, a first heat exchanger configured to cool the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, an expansion means configured to expand the refrigerant cooled by the first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger configured to allow the refrigerant, which is expanded by the expansion means, to exchange heat with the coolant; a measurement means configured to measure a pressure and a temperature of the refrigerant; and a controller configured to determine whether a battery thermal management mode operates in which the coolant circuit and the refrigerant circuit are operated and operations of cooling and heating an interior of the vehicle do not operate, detect a degree of superheat or a degree of supercooling of the refrigerant from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant measured by the measurement means, and determine whether a current state is a low-refrigerant state in which a refrigerant amount in the compressor is smaller than a reference refrigerant amount.

2 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the current state is the low-refrigerant state when the battery thermal management mode is operated under a condition in which the operations of cooling and heating the interior of the vehicle do not operate.

3 . The thermal management system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the current state is the low-refrigerant state when a first reference time has elapsed after initiating an operation of the compressor.

4 . The thermal management system of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to detect the degree of superheat from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant introduced into the compressor and determine that the current state is the low-refrigerant state when the degree of superheat is a first reference temperature or higher.

5 . The thermal management system of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to detect the degree of supercooling from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant introduced into the expansion means and determine that the current state is the low-refrigerant state when a state in which the degree of supercooling is a second reference temperature or less is maintained for a second reference time or more.

6 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to restrict at least one of a maximum rotational speed and an increase/decrease rate of a rotational speed of the compressor when the controller determines that the current state is the low-refrigerant state.

7 . The thermal management system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to raise an alarm when the controller determines that the current state is the low-refrigerant state.

8 . A method of controlling a thermal management system comprising a coolant circuit having a circulating coolant, and a battery heat exchanger configured to allow the coolant to exchange heat with a battery of a vehicle, a refrigerant circuit including a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant, a first heat exchanger configured to cool the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, an expansion means configured to expand the refrigerant cooled by the first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger configured to allow the refrigerant, which is expanded by the expansion means, to exchange heat with the coolant, a measurement means configured to measure a pressure and a temperature of the refrigerant, and a controller configured to determine whether a battery thermal management mode operates in which the coolant circuit and the refrigerant circuit are operated and operations of cooling and heating an interior of the vehicle do not operate, detect a degree of superheat or a degree of supercooling of the refrigerant from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant measured by the measurement means, and determine whether a current state is a low-refrigerant state in which a refrigerant amount in the compressor is smaller than a reference refrigerant amount, the method comprising the steps of:
a first determination step of determining whether the thermal management system operates in the battery thermal management mode; a second determination step of determining whether a first reference time has elapsed after initiating an operation of the compressor; a third determination step of comparing the degree of superheat or the degree of supercooling with a reference temperature; and a fourth determination step of determining whether the current state is the low-refrigerant state on a basis of a determination result in the first determination step, the second determination step, and the third determination step.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the third determination step determines whether the degree of superheat detected from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant introduced into the compressor is a first reference temperature or higher, and wherein the fourth determination step determines that the current state is the low-refrigerant state when the determination result in the first determination step indicates that the thermal management system operates in the battery thermal management mode, a determination result in the second determination step indicates that the first reference time has elapsed after initiating the operation of the compressor, and a determination result in the third determination step indicates that the degree of superheat is the first reference temperature or higher.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the third determination step determines whether the degree of supercooling detected from the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant introduced into the expansion means is a second reference temperature or lower and whether a state in which the degree of supercooling is the second reference temperature or lower is maintained for a second reference time or more, and wherein the fourth determination step determines that the current state is the low-refrigerant state when the determination result in the first determination step indicates that the thermal management system operates in the battery thermal management mode, a determination result in the second determination step indicates that the first reference time has elapsed after initiating an operation of the compressor, and a determination result in the third determination step indicates that the state in which the degree of supercooling is the second reference temperature or lower is maintained for the second reference time or more.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the second determination step is performed when the determination result in the first determination step indicates that the thermal management system operates in the battery thermal management mode, and wherein the third determination step is performed when a determination result in the second determination step indicates that the first reference time has elapsed after initiating the operation of the compressor.

12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
a compressor control step of restricting at least one of a maximum rotational speed and an increase/decrease rate of a rotational speed of the compressor when a determination result in the fourth determination step indicates that the current state is the low-refrigerant state.

13 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

Assignees

• Hanon Systems

Inventors

• Kwak Jung Myung
• Kim Yong Hee

Classifications

• B60H2001/3252

  of the refrigerant at an evaporating unit · CPC title

• B60H1/3225

  characterised by safety arrangements, e.g. compressor anti-seizure means or by signalling devices · CPC title

• B60H2001/3263

  of the refrigerant at an evaporating unit · CPC title

• B60H2001/00307

  Component temperature regulation using a liquid flow · CPC title

• B60H1/00278 Primary

  for the battery · CPC title