>BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to certain examples thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are given herein below by way of illustration only, and thus are not necessarily limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a controller and operation units in the thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an overall configuration of a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a view for describing an operating state in a heating mode of a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a view for describing an operating state in which a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure performs interior heating and dehumidification at the same time;

FIG. 6 is a view for describing an operating state in a cooling mode of a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a view for describing an operating state in which a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure performs interior cooling and battery cooling at the same time; and

FIG. 8 is a view for describing an operating state in a battery cooling mode of a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

It can be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of embodiments and basic principles of the disclosure. The specific design features of an embodiment of the present disclosure as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes can be determined by a particular intended application and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers can refer to the same or equivalent sections of the present disclosure throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specific structural or functional descriptions presented in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely exemplified for the purpose of describing embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in other various forms. In addition, the disclosure should not necessarily be construed as being limited by the embodiments described in the specification, and it can be understood that the disclosure includes all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, terms such as “first” and/or “second” may be used to describe various components, but the components are not necessarily limited by the terms. The above terms can be used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another, for example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, and a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

When a certain component is described as being “connected” or “coupled” to another component, it can be understood that the certain component may be directly connected or coupled to another component or other components may also be included and located therebetween. On the other hand, when a certain component is described as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another component, it can be understood that other components are not located therebetween. Other expressions for describing the relationship between components, such as “between” and “directly between” or “adjacent” and “directly adjacent” can be construed in a same or similar manner.

The same reference numbers can denote the same components throughout the specification. Terms used in the specification are for describing the embodiments and are not necessarily intended to limit the present disclosure. In the specification, the singular form can also include the plural form unless specifically stated in the phrase. As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” means that the stated component, step, operation, and/or element do not preclude the presence of addition of one or more other components, steps, operations, and/or elements.

An embodiment of the present disclosure can provide a thermal management system capable of reducing the cost as well as implementing excellent cooling and heating performance and can relate to a thermal management system with a configuration of a cooling/heating secondary loop circuit using re-circulation heat of refrigerant discharged from a compressor and an economical circuit.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a controller and operation units in a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a cooling/heating secondary loop circuit including two cooling circuits in which an individual cooling fluid circulates, such as a refrigerant circuit in which air-conditioning refrigerant circulates and a coolant circuit in which coolant circulates.

In an embodiment, a refrigerant circuit is a major component of an air-conditioning system and includes a compressor 12 for compressing and transferring refrigerant at a high-temperature and high-pressure state, a condenser 14 for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 12 through heat exchange with air, an expansion valve 15 for expanding the refrigerant vaporized by being condensed by the condenser 14 in a low-temperature and low-pressure state, and an evaporator 17 for cooling air using the latent heat of evaporation of the refrigerant while evaporating the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 15.

The components of the air-conditioning system of FIG. 1 are connected through a refrigerant line 1 through which the refrigerant flows, and while circulating along the refrigerant line 1, and the refrigerant sequentially passes through the components of the air-conditioning system.

In addition, the refrigerant circuit of an embodiment further includes an accumulator 11 in which the gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant is performed. The accumulator 11 can be installed in the refrigerant line 1 at a position before a front end of the compressor 12 based on a path through which the refrigerant circulates, that is, in the refrigerant line 1 between the evaporator 17 and the compressor 12 and can function to allow only the refrigerant in a gas state to be supplied to the compressor 12, thereby improving the efficiency and durability of the compressor.

In addition, the refrigerant circuit can further include a bypass line 2, which is a refrigerant line installed by being branched from the refrigerant line 1 so that the refrigerant may selectively pass through the condenser 14 and the expansion valve 15 and a branch line 3, which is a refrigerant line branched from the bypass line 2 and connected to a chiller 23 of the coolant circuit.

The bypass line 2 can be a refrigerant line connecting a position of a rear end of the expansion valve 15 and a position of a rear end of the condenser 14 in the refrigerant line 1, which is a refrigerant line connecting the refrigerant line 1, which is a position at an outlet side of the compressor and a position of an inlet side of the condenser, to the refrigerant line 1, which is a position at an inlet side of the evaporator 17 and a position at an outlet side of the expansion valve 15.

In addition, the refrigerant circuit may further include a valve device for controlling a flow of the refrigerant so that the refrigerant circulating along the refrigerant line 1 may flow by selectively passing through the bypass line 2, the branch line 3, and the chiller 23 of the coolant circuit.

As the valve device, 3-way valves 13 and 16 for controlling a flow direction of the refrigerant may be installed at each position at which the bypass line 2 is branched from the refrigerant line 1, and each of the 3-way valves 13 and 16 may be electronic valves whose opening states are controlled according to a control signal output from the controller 100 (see FIG. 2).

In the following description, the 3-way valve 13 installed at a branch position at which the bypass line 2 is branched from the refrigerant line 1 between the compressor 12 and the condenser 14 will be referred to as “first valve.” In addition, the 3-way valve 16 installed at a branch position at which the bypass line 2 is branched from the refrigerant line 1 between the expansion valve 15 and the evaporator 17 will be referred to as “second valve.”

The branch line 3 can be branched from the bypass line 2, which is the outlet side of the compressor 12, and connected to pass through the chiller 23, and the refrigerant distributed from the bypass line 2 can be supplied to the chiller 23 and then perform heat exchange with the coolant while passing through the chiller 23.

The branch line 3 may be connected to an inlet of the chiller 23, and the branch line 3 connected to the outlet of the chiller 23 may be connected to the accumulator 11. Therefore, the gaseous refrigerant compressed in the high-temperature and high-pressure by the compressor 12 may move to the bypass line 2, then move from the bypass line 2 to the branch line 3, may be supplied to the chiller 23 of the coolant circuit, and supplied from the chiller 23 back to the accumulator 11.

As described above, the branch line 3 can be connected to the inlet and the outlet of the chiller 23, and when the refrigerant distributed from the bypass line 2 is supplied to the chiller 23 through the branch line 3, heat exchange between the refrigerant and coolant passing through the chiller 23 can be performed. The branch line 3 connected to the outlet of the chiller 23 may be connected to an inlet of the accumulator 11, and thus the refrigerant passing through the chiller 23 may flow to the accumulator 11 for gas-liquid separation.

The coolant circuit can include a battery temperature control system for cooling and heating the battery 5, and specifically, can include a water pump 21 for pumping and pressure-feeding the coolant, the chiller 23 for cooling the battery 5, a water heater 24 for heating the battery 5, a heater core 25 for heating air-conditioning air through the heat exchange between the coolant and the air, and a battery coolant passage (not illustrated) provided in the battery 5 so that the coolant may pass therethrough.

The components of the battery temperature control system can be connected through a coolant line 4 so that the coolant may circulate, and the water pump 21, the chiller 23, the water heater 24, and the heater core 25 are located sequentially along the coolant circulation path. Therefore, while the coolant circulates along the coolant line 4, the coolant may sequentially pass through the water pump 21, the chiller 23, the water heater 24, and the heater core 25.

The water pump 21 may be an electric water pump (EWP) driven by an electric motor. The branch line 3 and the coolant line 4 can be connected to the chiller 23, and heat exchange can be performed between the refrigerant flowing from the chiller 23 along the branch line 3 and the coolant circulating along the coolant line 4.

The chiller 23 can cool the coolant passing through the battery 5 to cool the battery and can receive low-temperature refrigerant through the branch line 3 so that heat exchange is performed between the low-temperature refrigerant and the coolant.

On the other hand, the water heater 24 can heat the coolant passing through the battery 5 to heat the battery, and the coolant heated by the water heater 24 can pass through the battery 5 via the heater core 25.

The heater core 25 can include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC) together with components of the air-conditioning system and the water heater 24 and can be provided to allow heat exchange to be performed between the coolant passing through the inside and the air passing therearound.

The air supplied to the heater core 25 can be supplied by an air-conditioning blower (reference numeral “29” in FIG. 2) and can pass through the heater core 25 while the air blown by the air-conditioning blower 29 moves along an air-conditioning case.

Heat can be dissipated from the high-temperature coolant passing through the heater core 25 to the air-conditioning air to heat the vehicle interior, and the air-conditioning air heated through the heat exchange with the coolant while passing through the heater core 25 can be discharged to the vehicle interior to perform heating.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an overall configuration of a thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and further illustrates a power electronics (PE) temperature control system for performing the thermal management for the PE system.

As illustrated, the thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure further includes the PE temperature control system, and the PE temperature control system performs a function for cooling devices or components of the PE system 7. The PE temperature control system can use a water cooled cooling method like the battery cooling method of the battery temperature control system.

The PE temperature control system may include a separate water pump 26 for pumping and pressure-feeding coolant, a radiator 27 for heat-dissipation of the coolant, and a separate coolant line 6 connected to the PE system 7 so that the coolant may circulate between the water pump 26 and the radiator 27.

The water pump 26 may be an EWP driven by the electric motor. The radiator 27 can constitute a cooling module of the vehicle together with the condenser 14 of the air-conditioning system and a cooling fan 28, and the cooling module may be located on a front end portion of the vehicle so that outside air may be introduced and may pass.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, devices or components of the PE system 7, which are cooling targets of the PE temperature control system, may include an inverter and a motor mounted in the electric vehicle, and specifically, may include a front wheel motor, a rear wheel motor, a front wheel inverter for driving and controlling the front wheel motor, and a rear wheel inverter for driving and controlling the rear wheel motor, for example. The front wheel motor can be a motor connected to a front wheel of the vehicle to transmit power to drive the front wheel, and the rear wheel motor can be a motor connected to a rear wheel of the vehicle to transmit power to drive the rear wheel.

In addition, in the battery temperature control system, a separate coolant line 4a can be branched from the coolant line 4 at an outlet side of the water pump 21 and connected to an inlet side of the radiator 27. In addition, the outlet side of the radiator 27 can be connected to the coolant line 4 at an inlet side of the heater core 25 through the branched coolant line 4a so that the coolant passing through the radiator 27 may flow back to the battery temperature control system.

In addition, as the 3-way valve for controlling a flow direction of the coolant, a third valve 22 may be installed at a branching position at which the coolant line 4a connected to the radiator 27 is branched from the coolant line 4 at the outlet side of the water pump 21.

The third valve 22 may also be an electronic valve whose opening state is controlled according to a control signal output from the controller 100 (see FIG. 2). The third valve 22 can control the flow direction of the coolant pressure-fed by the water pump 21 so that the coolant passing through the battery 5 may selectively pass through the radiator 27.

In addition, a flow rate of the coolant flowing through the radiator 27 and a flow rate of the coolant flowing through the chiller 23, the water heater 24, and the heater core 25 may be controlled depending on the opening state of the third valve 22, and the coolant may bypass the radiator 27 and flow only through the chiller 23, the water heater 24, and the heater core 25.

Therefore, the coolant line 4 in which the chiller 23, the water heater 24, and the heater core 25 are installed can function as a kind of bypass line that allows the coolant to flow by bypassing the radiator 27 depending on the opening state of the third valve 22.

As described above, the configuration of the thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described, and the above-described thermal management system may be provided as an economical thermal management circuit capable of reducing the cost as well as implementing cooling and heating performance.

In particular, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there may be provided a thermal management system with a new configuration, which can secure heating performance even without the heat pump or the PTC heater, which is an electric heater, in order to reduce the cost.

Hereinafter, an operating state of the thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may perform various thermal management modes using the water heater and the compressor work (discharge refrigerant re-circulation) even without the heat pump or the PTC heater.

A thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may perform a mode for cooling the PE system 7, a mode for cooling the battery 5, a cooling and battery heating simultaneous mode for simultaneously performing the cooling the vehicle interior and the cooling the battery 5, a mode for heating the battery 5, a heating and battery heating simultaneous mode for simultaneously performing the heating of the vehicle interior and the heating of the battery 5, a heating and dehumidifying simultaneous mode for simultaneously performing the heating and dehumidification of the vehicle interior, and the like.

In a thermal management system of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 100 is provided to control operations of the operating units illustrated in FIG. 2, such as the first valve 13 and the second valve 16, depending on the thermal management modes set as described above. For example, operations of the first valve 13 and the second valve 16 may be controlled to allow the refrigerant circulating along the refrigerant line 1 to flow by selectively passing through the bypass line 2, the branch line 3, and the chiller 23.

FIG. 4 is a view for describing an operating state in a heating mode of the thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, to heat the vehicle interior, the compressor 12 is driven, and the water heater 24 is controlled in an ON state by the controller 100 to be operated to heat coolant.

In addition, the controller 100 can operate the water pump 21 of the coolant circuit, can operate the air-conditioning blower (reference numeral “29” in FIG. 2) for heating, and can allow the air blown by the air-conditioning blower 29 to pass around the heater core 25 and then be discharged to the vehicle interior.

In addition, an opening state of the first valve 13 can be controlled so that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12 may flow through the bypass line 2 and the branch line 3 without passing through the condenser 14, and an opening state of the second valve 16 can be controlled so that some refrigerant may pass through the evaporator 17 by the controller 100.

Specifically, the first valve 13 can be controlled to allow the entire amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12 to flow through the bypass line 2 and can be controlled to close the refrigerant line at the inlet side of the condenser 14, and can allow the refrigerant line at the outlet side of the compressor 12 and the bypass line 2 to communicate with each other.

In addition, the second valve 16 can be controlled to allow the refrigerant flowing through the bypass line 2 to flow to the evaporator 17 and can be controlled to close the refrigerant line at the outlet side of the expansion valve 15, and can allow the bypass line 2 and the refrigerant line 1 at the inlet side of the evaporator 17 to communicate with each other.

At an initial operation of the vehicle in winter, it may be necessary to heat the battery 5, and to this end, the water heater 24 of the battery temperature control system can be used as a heat source. Therefore, it can be difficult to sufficiently supply the heat necessary for heating the vehicle interior using only the water heater 24 without the heat pump.

Therefore, to secure a heating heat source, heat required for heating can be supplemented by using the compressor work without adopting an additional component, and in this case, by allowing a portion of the high-temperature gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12 to the chiller 23 installed in the coolant line 4 of the secondary loop, that is, the chiller 23 of the coolant circuit, an additional heating heat source can be provided by a method of transferring the heat of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor.

As the heat exchange between the refrigerant and the coolant occurs in the chiller 23, the heat of the refrigerant can be transferred to the coolant, and the coolant receiving the heat of the refrigerant from the chiller 23 can be further heated in the water heater 24 and then can perform heat exchange with the air-conditioning air in the heater core 25.

As a result, the air-conditioning air receiving the heat of the coolant while passing through the heater core 25 can be discharged to the vehicle interior to supply the heat required for the heating to the vehicle. The low-temperature refrigerant condensed during heat exchange with the coolant in the chiller 23 can be then sent to the accumulator 11.

In addition, the coolant receiving the heat from the refrigerant in the chiller 23 can be additionally heated in the water heater 24 and then partially used as the heating heat source in the heater core 25, and the remainder can be used to heat the battery 5, and therefore, the battery 5 may be sufficiently heated at the initial beginning of the vehicle, and then, when the system is stabilized, it is possible to achieve stable heating through the water heater 24.

At the same time, the remaining high-temperature gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12 and then bypassed without passing through the chiller 23 can move from the bypass line 2 to the refrigerant line 1, can pass through the evaporator 17, and then can be supplied to the accumulator 11, and the high-temperature gaseous refrigerant can move directly to the accumulator 11 without heat exchange in the evaporator 17 to supply the heat to the inside of the accumulator, and the high-temperature gaseous refrigerant can be used as the heat source for heat-absorption and vaporization of the low-temperature condensed refrigerant stored in the accumulator 11.

In other words, in the accumulator 11, the heat-absorption of the refrigerant receiving the heat of the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 17 without the heat exchange after discharged from the compressor 12 can be performed on the low-temperature condensed refrigerant stored after passing through the chiller 23, and thus the liquid refrigerant stored in the accumulator 11 may absorb the heat, then be converted into gaseous refrigerant, and supplied back to the compressor 12.

Therefore, because the high-temperature gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor may be used as the heat source for heating in winter and heating the battery and at the same time, used as the heat source for heat absorption and vaporization of the refrigerant in the accumulator, it is possible to secure a flow rate of the refrigerant capable of circulating at low temperatures in winter, and as a result, it is possible to continuously supply the heat source in the vehicle even without a separate component through the compressor work.

Next, FIG. 5 is a view for describing an operating state in which the thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure simultaneously performs heating and dehumidification, and the heating and dehumidifying simultaneous mode as illustrated in FIG. 5 may be performed when a situation in which dehumidification due to an increase in interior humidity is desired/required when the heating mode in winter is operated.

In the heating and dehumidifying simultaneous mode, the coolant circuit can be used to supply the heat for interior heating, and the refrigerant circuit can be used to control (dehumidify) interior humidity for air-conditioning.

In the heating and dehumidifying simultaneous mode, the water heater 24 can be operated, and the compressor 12 and the water pump 21 can be operated by the controller 100. In addition, the cooling fan (reference numeral “28” in FIGS. 2 and 3) and the air-conditioning blower (reference numeral “29” in FIG. 2) can be operated, and the operations of the first valve 13 and the second valve 16 for controlling the flow direction of the refrigerant can be controlled.

At this time, the operations of the first valve 13 and the second valve 16 can be controlled so that the high-temperature gaseous refrigerant compressed by the compressor 12 does not flow through the bypass line 2 and the branch line 3, may sequentially pass through the condenser 14, the expansion valve 15, and the evaporator 17, and then flow to the accumulator 11.

In other words, the first valve 13 can be controlled to allow the entire amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12 to flow to the condenser 14 and can be controlled to close the bypass line 2, and can allow the refrigerant line at the outlet side of the compressor 12 and the refrigerant line at the inlet side of the condenser 14 to communicate with each other.

In addition, the second valve 16 can be controlled to allow the entire amount of refrigerant discharged from the expansion valve 15 to flow to the evaporator 17, can be controlled to close the bypass line 2, and can allow the refrigerant line at the outlet side of the expansion valve 15 and the refrigerant line at the inlet side of the evaporator 17 to communicate with each other. Therefore, in such configuration, the refrigerant does not flow to the bypass line 2, the branch line 3, and the chiller 23.

When the system is stabilized after the initial operation of the vehicle, in the coolant circuit, the coolant can receive heat from the water heater 24 and the battery 5, and in the heater core 25, the coolant can supply heat for interior heating through heat exchange with air.