Integrated thermal management circuit for vehicle

An integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle is introduced, which includes a refrigerant line on which a refrigerant flows into the compressor; a battery cooling line making a cooling water circulate between a battery and a battery radiator or between the battery and the battery chiller; an electric cooling line making the cooling water circulate between an electronic driving unit and an electric radiator or between the electronic driving unit and the electric chiller; and a chiller control valve provided at an upstream point of the electric chiller and the battery chiller on the chiller line, and making the refrigerant discharged from the external heat exchanger flow into the electric chiller or the battery chiller.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0099298 filed on Jul. 28, 2021, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

Field of the Present Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle, in which an electric chiller and a battery chiller are connected in parallel to each other to provide a chiller line, and heating through a heat pump and battery temperature rise are independently performed in accordance with a thermal management mode of a vehicle through a chiller control valve provided at a top end portion of the chiller line.

Description of Related Art

Recently, in conformity with the eco-friendly vehicle supply expansion policy and the high fuel efficiency vehicle preference, the number of registered domestic eco-friendly vehicles has been increased. An electric vehicle which is an eco-friendly vehicle is a vehicle which is driven using an electric battery and an electric motor without using a petroleum fuel and an engine. Because the electric vehicle has a system that drives the vehicle by rotating the motor with electricity accumulated in the battery, it has the advantage of no hazardous substance discharge, low noise, and high energy efficiency.

In case of a vehicle using the existing engine power, a vehicle heating system is operated using waste heat of the engine, whereas the electric vehicle does not have the engine, and thus is provided with a system that operates a heater using the electricity. Accordingly, the electric vehicle has the problem in that the driving distance is greatly reduced during heating.

Furthermore, a battery module may be used in an optimal temperature environment to maintain an optimum performance and long lifespan. However, it may be difficult to use the battery module in the optimal temperature environment due to the heat generated while driving and external temperature change.

To solve the problem, a scheme for organically combining an air conditioning system and a thermal management system of the electric vehicle has been actively discussed.

Meanwhile, in case of the conventional thermal management circuit that utilizes an integrated chiller exchanging heat with the electronic driving unit and the battery, a water heater has been used to heat the battery in a harsh environment. However, because the water heater is generally connected in series to the battery on a battery cooling water line together with the integrated chiller, and heats and supplies, to the battery, the cooling water that flows into the battery, there has been the problem in that in case of heating the battery through the water heater, it is not possible to recover the waste heat of the electronic driving unit through the integrated chiller and to utilize the waste heat for indoor heating of the vehicle, and thus the thermal management efficiency of the vehicle cannot but be degraded.

Accordingly, there is a demand for the development of an integrated thermal management circuit that can implement various driving modes for independently performing the indoor heating and the battery heating through the waste heat recovery of the electronic driving unit.

The information included in this Background of the present disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the present disclosure and may not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to providing an integrated thermal management circuit fora vehicle, in which an electric chiller and a battery chiller are connected in parallel to each other to provide a chiller line, and heating through a heat pump and battery temperature rise are independently performed in accordance with a thermal management mode of a vehicle through a chiller control valve provided at a top end portion of the chiller line.

In one aspect of the present disclosure to achieve the above object, an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a refrigerant line on which a refrigerant flows in an order of a compressor, an indoor condenser of an indoor air conditioning device, and an external heat exchanger, the refrigerant discharged from the external heat exchanger is branched and flows into a chiller line and an evaporation line, an electric chiller and a battery chiller are connected in parallel on the chiller line, and the refrigerants having passed through the chiller line and the evaporation line join each other to flow into the compressor; a battery cooling line making a cooling water circulate between a battery and a battery radiator or between the battery and the battery chiller; an electric cooling line making the cooling water circulate between an electronic driving unit and an electric radiator or between the electronic driving unit and the electric chiller; and a chiller control valve provided at an upstream point of the electric chiller and the battery chiller on the chiller line, and making the refrigerant discharged from the external heat exchanger flow into the electric chiller or the battery chiller.

On the chiller line, the electric chiller and the battery chiller may be formed in unity, and a blocking partition wall blocking heat exchange may be provided between the electric chiller and the battery chiller.

The refrigerant of the refrigerant line, being heated by the battery chiller, the electric chiller, or the evaporator, may be compressed by the compressor, and may be cooled as sequentially passing through the indoor condenser and the external heat exchanger.

A water heater may be provided at a downstream point of the battery on the battery cooling line, and the cooling water having passed through the water heater on the battery cooling line may flow into the battery after passing through the battery radiator or the battery chiller.

The battery cooling line may operate the water heater in a battery heating mode, and the cooling water heated through the water heater may flow into the battery to heat the battery after passing through the battery chiller.

The chiller control valve may open or close an electric chiller side port or a battery chiller side port in accordance with a thermal management mode of the vehicle, and may block the battery chiller side port to prevent the refrigerant from flowing into the battery chiller in a battery heating mode.

A first control valve may be provided at a point where downstream of the battery radiator and the battery chiller and upstream of the battery join each other on the battery cooling line, and the first control valve may adjust a flow of the cooling water flowing into the battery by opening or closing a battery radiator side port or a battery chiller side port thereof in accordance with a thermal management mode of the battery.

The first control valve may be a three-way valve which blocks the battery chiller side port in an external air cooling mode of the battery, and may block the battery radiator side port in a chiller cooling mode or a heating mode of the battery.

A second control valve may be provided at a point where downstream of the electric radiator and the electric chiller and upstream of the electronic driving unit join each other on the electric cooling line, and the second control valve may adjust a flow of the cooling water flowing into the electronic driving unit by opening or closing an electric radiator side port or an electric chiller side port in accordance with a thermal management mode of the electronic driving unit.

The second control valve may be a three-way valve which blocks the electric chiller side port in an external air cooling mode of the electronic driving unit, and may block the electric radiator side port in an electric waste heat recovery mode of the electronic driving unit.

An expansion valve may be provided at an upstream point of the external heat exchanger, an upstream point of the chiller line, or an upstream point of the evaporation line on the refrigerant line, and the refrigerant passing through the expansion valve at the upstream point of the external heat exchanger, the upstream point of the chiller line, or the upstream point of the evaporation line may be selectively expanded in accordance with an air conditioning mode of the vehicle.

When the battery cooling line performs a battery heating mode, the electric cooling line may perform an electric waste heat recovery mode of the electronic driving unit, and the refrigerant line may perform indoor heating through waste heat of the electronic driving unit.

An expansion valve may be provided at an upstream point of the chiller control valve, and the refrigerant line may perform the indoor heating through the waste heat of the electronic driving unit so that the circulating refrigerant is compressed by the compressor, condensed by the indoor condenser, expanded by the expansion valve at the upstream point of the chiller control valve, and evaporated by the electric chiller.

On the refrigerant line, a frost line may be provided to make the cooling water flowing on the refrigerant line bypass the external heat exchanger when frost occurs on the external heat exchanger by connecting an inflow side and a discharge side of the external heat exchanger with each other.

According to the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle of the present disclosure, the electric chiller and the battery chiller are connected in parallel to each other to provide the chiller line, and the heating through the heat pump and the battery heating are independently performed in accordance with the thermal management mode of the vehicle through the chiller control valve provided at the top end portion of the chiller line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.2is a diagram explaining that an electric waste heat recovery mode and an indoor heating and battery heating mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.3is a diagram explaining that an external air and electric waste heat recovery mode and an indoor heating and battery heating mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.4is a diagram explaining that a frost line is added in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.5is a diagram explaining that an electronic driving unit external air cooling and a battery chiller cooling mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.6is a diagram explaining that an electronic driving unit external air cooling, a battery chiller cooling mode, and an indoor cooling mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.7is a diagram explaining that an indoor heating mode through waste heat recovery is performed through external air and an electronic driving unit in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.8is a diagram explaining that an indoor heating mode through waste heat recovery is performed through external air and a battery in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.9is a diagram explaining that an expansion valve is provided between an electric chiller and a battery chiller connected in parallel to downstream of a chiller control valve in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a refrigerant line100on which a refrigerant flows in an order of a compressor10, an indoor condenser20of an indoor air conditioning device, and an external heat exchanger30, the refrigerant discharged from the external heat exchanger30is branched and flows into a chiller line150and an evaporation line170, an electric chiller40and a battery chiller45are connected in parallel on the chiller line150, and the refrigerants having passed through the chiller line150and the evaporation line170join each other to flow into the compressor10through a first bypass line180; a battery cooling line200making a cooling water circulate between a battery60and a battery radiator70or between the battery60and the battery chiller45; an electric cooling line300making the cooling water circulate between an electronic driving unit80and an electric radiator90or between the electronic driving unit80and the electric chiller40; and a chiller control valve48provided at an upstream point of the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45on the refrigerant line100, and making the refrigerant discharged from the external heat exchanger30flow into the electric chiller40or the battery chiller45.

On the chiller line150of the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45may be formed in unity, and a blocking partition wall blocking heat exchange is provided between the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45.

Furthermore, in the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the refrigerant of the refrigerant line100, being heated by the battery chiller45, the electric chiller40, or the evaporator50, may be compressed by the compressor10, and may be cooled as sequentially passing through the indoor condenser20and the external heat exchanger30.

In case of performing heating of the battery through a water heater65in the thermal management circuit in the related art provided with an integrated chiller in which the electric chiller and the battery chiller are integrated, heating through a heat pump using the waste heat of the electronic driving unit85is unable to be performed, and in the instant case, there is a problem in that the indoor heating should depend on a PTC heater22having a very low efficiency.

Accordingly, in the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45may be separately provided as separate parts, or may be configured as one united part having respective flow paths. In case that the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45are configured as one united part, the blocking partition wall is provided between the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45to block the mutual heat exchange, and various thermal management modes can be independently performed by controlling the refrigerant flow from the upstream of the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45to the respective chillers through the chiller control valve48.

That is, the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45are connected to the electric cooling line300and the battery cooling line200in a state where the refrigerant flow thereof is controlled through the chiller control valve48, and thus in case of performing the battery heating mode through the battery cooling line200, the refrigerant flow to the battery chiller45may be blocked, and the indoor heating through a heat pump using the waste heat of the electronic driving unit80may be independently performed on the electronic cooling line300and the refrigerant line100.

In the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the water heater65may be provided at a downstream point of the battery60on the battery cooling line200, and the cooling water having passed through the water heater65on the battery cooling line200may flow into the battery60after passing through the battery radiator70or the battery chiller45.

Furthermore, in the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the battery cooling line200may operate the water heater65in a battery heating mode, and the cooling water heated through the water heater65may flow into the battery60to heat the battery after passing through the battery chiller45.

Meanwhile, in the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the chiller control valve48may open or close a port on the side of the electric chiller40or a port on the side of the battery chiller45in accordance with a thermal management mode of the vehicle, and may block the port on the side of the battery chiller45to prevent the refrigerant from flowing into the battery chiller45in the battery heating mode.

FIG.2is a diagram explaining that an electric waste heat recovery mode and an indoor heating and battery heating mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.3is a diagram explaining that an external air and electric waste heat recovery mode and an indoor heating and battery heating mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a first control valve210may be provided at a point where downstream of the battery radiator70and the battery chiller45and upstream of the battery60join each other on the battery cooling line200, and the first control valve210may adjust a flow of the cooling water flowing into the battery60by opening or closing the port on the side of the battery radiator70or the port on the side of the battery chiller45in the third bypass line195in accordance with the thermal management mode of the battery60.

In the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first control valve210may be a three-way valve, which blocks the port on the side of the battery chiller45in an external air cooling mode of the battery60, and blocks the port on the side of the battery radiator70in the chiller cooling mode or heating mode of the battery60.

Furthermore, in the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a second control valve310may be provided at a point where downstream of the electric radiator90and the electric chiller40and upstream of the electronic driving unit80join each other on the electric cooling line300, and the second control valve310may adjust a flow of the cooling water flowing into the electronic driving unit80by opening or closing a port on the side of the electric radiator90in the electric cooling line300or a port on the side of the electric chiller40in a second bypass line190in accordance with the thermal management mode of the electronic driving unit80.

In the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the second control valve310may be a three-way valve, which blocks the port on the side of the electric chiller40in the external air cooling mode of the electronic driving unit80, and blocks the port on the side of the electric radiator90in the electric waste heat recovery mode of the electronic driving unit80.

Meanwhile, in the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an expansion valve may be provided at an upstream point of the external heat exchanger30, an upstream point of the chiller line150, or an upstream point of the evaporation line170on the refrigerant line100, and the refrigerant passing through the expansion valve at the upstream point of the external heat exchanger30, the upstream point of the chiller line150, or the upstream point of the evaporation line170may be selectively expanded in accordance with the air conditioning mode of the vehicle.

Furthermore, in the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, when the battery cooling line200performs the battery heating mode, the electric cooling line300may perform the electric waste heat recovery mode of the electronic driving unit80, and the refrigerant line100may perform the indoor heating through the waste heat of the electronic driving unit80.

In the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an expansion valve may be provided at the upstream point of the chiller control valve48, and the refrigerant line100may perform the indoor heating through the waste heat of the electronic driving unit80so that the circulating refrigerant is compressed by the compressor10, condensed by the indoor condenser20, expanded by the expansion valve at the upstream point of the chiller control valve48, and evaporated by the electric chiller40.

In conclusion, through the control of the first control valve210and the second control valve110provided on the downstream of the electric chiller40and the battery chiller45in addition to the chiller control valve48, various operating modes, such as electric external air cooling, electric waste heat recovery, battery external air cooling, battery chiller cooling, and dehumidification, in addition to the battery heating mode and the indoor heating through the heat pump may be independently implemented, and the thermal management efficiency of the vehicle can also be heightened.

FIG.4is a diagram explaining that a frost line is added in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. On the refrigerant line100of the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a frost line500may be provided to make the cooling water flowing on the refrigerant line100bypass the external heat exchanger30when frost occurs on the external heat exchanger30by connecting an inflow side and a discharge side of the external heat exchanger30with each other by operating a third control valve510mounted in the refrigerant line100at the inflow side of the external heat exchanger30. When the frost occurs on the external heat exchanger30, the refrigerant flows into the frost line500, but does not flow into the external heat exchanger30. As needed, the refrigerant may be expanded in any one of expansion valves110and120provided at a front end portion of the external heat exchanger30and at a front end portion of the chiller control valve48on the refrigerant line100, and even when the frost occurs on the external heat exchanger30, various thermal management modes may be implemented without any problem.

FIG.5is a diagram explaining that an electronic driving unit external air cooling and a battery chiller cooling mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.6is a diagram explaining that an electronic driving unit external air cooling, a battery chiller cooling mode, and an indoor cooling mode are respectively performed in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.7is a diagram explaining that an indoor heating mode is performed through external air and waste heat recovery in an electronic driving unit in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.8is a diagram explaining that an indoor heating mode is performed through external air and waste heat recovery in a battery in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

That is, the integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has the advantage that various modes, such as battery heating, cooling of the electronic driving unit and the battery, indoor cooling, and indoor heating through the waste heat recovery as described above, may be easily implemented, and high thermal efficiency may be secured.

Meanwhile,FIG.9is a diagram explaining that an expansion valve is provided between an electric chiller and a battery chiller connected in parallel to downstream of a chiller control valve in an integrated thermal management circuit for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.1andFIG.9, as for the expansion valves provided on the upstream of the electric chiller and the battery chiller, one expansion valve may be provided on the upstream of the chiller control valve48, or two expansion valves may be provided on the upstream of the electric chiller and the battery chiller, being branched on the downstream of the chiller control valve48, so that as needed, the same vehicle thermal management modes may be implemented through configuration of circuits.

In various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a controller is connected to at least one of the elements of integrated thermal management circuit to control the operations thereof.