Integrated thermal management circuit for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025065693-A1
Application number	US-202418828746-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 9, 2024
Priority date	Jul 28, 2021
Publication date	Feb 27, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A vehicle thermal management circuit includes a refrigerant line configured to cause refrigerant to flow in the order of a compressor, an indoor condenser and an outdoor heat exchanger of an indoor air-conditioning apparatus, a battery cooling line configured to circulate cooling water between a battery and a battery radiator or between the battery and a chiller unit, an electric part cooling line configured to circulate cooling water between an electronic driving unit and an electric part radiator or between the driving unit and the chiller, and an accumulation unit located at an upstream point of the compressor on the refrigerant line, includes an expansion valve and a refrigerant heater, and is configured to receive the refrigerant discharged from the chiller or the evaporator and provide the received refrigerant to the compressor or to expand or heat the refrigerant and provides the expanded or heated refrigerant to the compressor.

First claim

1 . An integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle, comprising:
a refrigerant line is configured to cause a refrigerant to flow in the order of a compressor, an indoor condenser of an indoor air-conditioning apparatus, and an outdoor heat exchanger, wherein the refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger is introduced into the compressor after passing through a chiller unit or an evaporator of the indoor air-conditioning apparatus; a battery cooling line configured to circulate cooling water between a battery and a battery radiator or between the battery and the chiller unit; an electric part cooling line configured to circulate the cooling water between an electronic driving unit and an electric part radiator or between the electronic driving unit and the chiller unit; and an accumulation unit, which is located at an upstream point of the compressor on the refrigerant line, includes an expansion valve and a refrigerant heater, and is configured to receive the refrigerant discharged from the chiller unit or the evaporator and provide the received refrigerant to the compressor or to expand or heat the refrigerant and provide the expanded or heated refrigerant to the compressor, wherein the chiller unit includes an integrated chiller that is formed with a plurality of flow paths, and wherein the cooling water of the battery cooling line, the cooling water of the electric part cooling line, and the refrigerant of the refrigerant line are circulated through the integrated chiller through the respective independent flow paths.

2 - 4 . (canceled)

5 . The integrated thermal management circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant discharged from the compressor on the refrigerant line is branched for introduction into the temperature-rise control valve which is located at an upstream point of the integrated chiller, and the temperature-rise control valve is configured to close a port for the outdoor heat exchanger in the temperature rise mode of the battery.

6 . The integrated thermal management circuit according to claim 1 , wherein, in the refrigerant line, the expansion valve is located at an upstream point of the outdoor heat exchanger, an upstream point of the chiller unit or an upstream point of an evaporation line, and the refrigerant, which passes through the expansion valve of the upstream point of the outdoor heat exchanger, the upstream point of the chiller unit or the upstream point of the evaporation line, is selectively expanded depending on a cooling and heating mode of the vehicle.

7 . The integrated thermal management circuit according to claim 1 , wherein, when the battery temperature rise mode is performed in the battery cooling line, the electric part waste heat recovery mode of the electronic driving unit is performed in the electric part cooling line, and the refrigerant line performs indoor heating through the waste heat of the electronic driving unit.

8 . The integrated thermal management circuit according to claim 1 , wherein, when indoor heating through outdoor air heat absorption or indoor heating through the recovery of electric part waste heat of the electronic driving unit is performed, the accumulation unit heats the refrigerant which is introduced into the accumulation unit through the refrigerant heater.

9 . The integrated thermal management circuit according to claim 1 , wherein, both indoor heating and temperature rise of the battery through electric part waste heat recovery of the electronic driving unit are performed together, after the accumulation unit expands the refrigerant that is introduced into the accumulation unit through the expansion valve, and after the accumulation unit heats the expanded refrigerant through the refrigerant heater.

10 - 13 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Corp

Inventors

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

Classifications

• B60H1/00278 Primary

  for the battery · CPC title

• B60Y2200/91

  Electric vehicles · CPC title

• B60Y2304/05

  Reducing production costs, e.g. by redesign · CPC title

• B60H2001/3285

  related to an expansion unit · CPC title

• B60L58/26

  by cooling · CPC title