CN116056924A - Vehicle with a vehicle body having a vehicle body support - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle (C) is provided with: heat exchangers (5, 6) for exchanging heat with air introduced from the grille opening (2), an opening/closing device (8) capable of changing the air volume of the air supplied to the heat exchangers, and a control unit (82) for controlling the opening/closing device. The opening/closing device has a first opening/closing section (512) for opening/closing a first portion (A13, A14) of the opening/closing device, and a second opening/closing section (511) for opening/closing a second portion (A11, A12) farther from the grill opening than the first portion. The control unit operates the first opening/closing unit and the second opening/closing unit so that the opening degree of the first portion becomes smaller than the opening degree of the second portion.

Description

vehicle

Cross-reference of related applications

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-153320 filed on September 11, 2020, the benefit of priority is claimed, and the entire content of the patent application is incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The invention relates to a vehicle.

Background technique

In electric vehicles, the motor is cooled by circulating cooling water through the motor as its power source. Therefore, electric vehicles are equipped with a radiator for cooling water for cooling the motor. On the other hand, comparing an electric vehicle with an engine vehicle, a motor that is a power source of the electric vehicle generates less heat than an engine that is a power source for the engine vehicle. Therefore, the amount of air that needs to be supplied to the radiator for cooling the cooling water of the motor is smaller than the amount of air that needs to be supplied to the radiator for cooling the cooling water of the engine. Therefore, in a conventional electric vehicle, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below, the opening degree of the grille opening for introducing the air in front of the vehicle into the radiator is set to be smaller than that of the grille of the engine vehicle. The opening degree of the opening. Specifically, in the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, the grille opening is formed so as to face only the lower half of the radiator. In this vehicle, a duct is formed to guide the air introduced from the grill opening to the radiator. The duct is formed such that its flow path cross-sectional area gradually expands from the grill opening toward the radiator. By reducing the grille opening as in the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle can be improved, and the cruising distance of the vehicle can be extended.

prior art literature

patent documents

Patent Document 1: Specification of German Patent Application Publication No. 102018214105

In the duct described in Patent Document 1, the pressure of the portion farther from the grill opening in the vertical direction tends to be higher than the pressure of the portion close to the grill opening in the vertical direction. As a result, in the radiator, the air volume of the air flowing through the portion away from the grill opening becomes smaller than the air volume of the air flowing through the portion close to the grill opening. Such variation in the air volume distribution of the air is not preferable because it causes a decrease in the heat exchange efficiency of the radiator.

Contents of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle capable of improving the heat exchange efficiency of a heat exchanger.

A vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with air introduced from the grill opening; an air volume of air supplied by the exchanger; and a control unit that controls the opening and closing device. The opening area of the grill opening is smaller than the projected area of the front surface of the heat exchanger. The opening and closing device has a first opening and closing part and a second opening and closing part as the opening and closing part. The first opening and closing part opens and closes the first part of the opening and closing device. A second portion of the device that is farther from the grill opening than the first portion is opened and closed. The control unit operates the first opening and closing unit and the second opening and closing unit so that the opening degree of the first portion is smaller than the opening degree of the second portion.

By making the opening degree of the first part of the switch device smaller than the opening degree of the second part of the switch device in this configuration, air flows more easily to the second part than to the first part of the switch device. Thereby, in the heat exchanger, the pressure of the air arranged in the vicinity of the grill opening can be changed to increase the pressure, and the pressure of the air arranged in the part far from the grill opening can be increased. Going low for directional changes. By locally changing the pressure of the air due to the variation in the opening degree of the opening and closing device in this way, it is possible to reduce the variation in the air pressure due to the position of the grill opening. As a result, variation in the air volume of the air supplied to the heat exchanger can be reduced, and thus the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger can be improved.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cooling circuit and a heat pump device according to the first embodiment.

3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the damper device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the vehicle according to the first embodiment.

5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the thermal system ECU of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle according to a second embodiment.

(A) and (B) of FIG. 7 are diagrams schematically showing the schematic configuration of vehicles according to the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle according to a fifth embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a diagram schematically showing a front structure of a heat sink according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle according to a sixth embodiment.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, embodiments of the vehicle will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to make the description easier to understand, in each of the drawings, the same components are given the same reference numerals as much as possible, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

<First Embodiment>

A vehicle C shown in FIG. 1 is a so-called electric vehicle that runs with a motor as a power source. A grill opening 2 is provided in front of a vehicle body 1 of the vehicle C. As shown in FIG. Grille opening 2 is provided to supply air forward of vehicle body 1 to radiator 5 and outdoor heat exchanger 6 . The air introduced from the grill opening 2 is supplied to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 through the air guide duct 4 . The radiator 5 is a component of a cooling circuit for cooling the power unit of the vehicle C, and releases heat from the cooling water by exchanging heat between the cooling water circulating in the cooling circuit and the air introduced from the grill opening 2 . The power unit includes a motor as a power source of the vehicle C, a battery for driving the motor, an inverter device, and the like. The outdoor heat exchanger 6 is a component of the heat pump device installed in the air conditioner of the vehicle C, and functions as a condenser or a suction unit by exchanging heat between the refrigerant circulating in the heat pump device and the air introduced from the grill opening 2 . Heater action. The radiator 5 is arranged in front of the vehicle than the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . A blower 7 is provided downstream of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 in the air flow direction. The air blower 7 is provided for supplying air to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 when the vehicle C is parked, for example. In this embodiment, the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 correspond to heat exchangers.

The damper device 8 is disposed in front of the radiator 5 so as to face the radiator 5 . The damper device 8 is configured to be able to switch between an open state and a closed state. The open state allows the air introduced from the grille opening 2 to flow to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6. The closed state can cut off the flow of air to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger. The flow of heat exchanger 6. For example, when the vehicle C is traveling at a high speed, the damper device 8 is closed to improve the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle C. In this embodiment, the damper device 8 corresponds to an opening and closing device.

Next, the respective schematic configurations of the cooling circuit using the radiator 5 and the heat pump device using the outdoor heat exchanger 6 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the cooling circuit 20 is provided with a radiator 5 , a pump 21 , and a heating element 22 . In the cooling circuit 20, cooling water circulates through these elements. The radiator 5 cools the cooling water by exchanging heat between the cooling water flowing inside and the air flowing outside the radiator 5 . The pump 21 sucks in the cooling water cooled by the radiator 5 and discharges it to the heating element 22 . Cooling water circulates through the cooling circuit 20 by driving the pump 21 . The pump 21 is an electric pump driven by supply of electric power. The heat generating body 22 includes a motor 220 constituting a power unit of the vehicle C, an inverter device 221 , a battery 222 and the like. The inverter device 221 converts DC power charged to the battery 222 into AC power and supplies it to the motor 220 , and converts AC power generated by regenerative operation of the motor 220 into DC power to charge the battery 222 . The cooling water discharged from the pump 21 flows through the motor 220 , the inverter device 221 and the battery 222 . This cooling water cools the motor 220 and the like by absorbing their heat. The cooling water whose temperature has risen by absorbing heat from the motor 220 and the like is supplied to the radiator 5 to be cooled again.

The heat pump device 30 is a component of the air conditioner 40 of the vehicle C. As shown in FIG. The heat pump device 30 is provided with an outdoor heat exchanger 6 , a water-cooled condenser 31 , and an evaporator 32 . In the heat pump device 30, the refrigerant circulates through these elements. The heat pump device 30 realizes cooling and heating of the vehicle interior by changing the flow state of the refrigerant between when the air conditioner 40 operates in the cooling mode and when the air conditioner 40 operates in the heating mode.

Specifically, when the air conditioner 40 operates in the cooling mode, the heat pump device 30 circulates the refrigerant between the outdoor heat exchanger 6 and the evaporator 32 . At this time, the outdoor heat exchanger 6 operates as a condenser. That is, the outdoor heat exchanger 6 cools the refrigerant by exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing inside and the air flowing outside. The high-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant generated by being cooled by the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is decompressed and transferred to a low-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant by passing through a pressure reducing valve provided in the heat pump device 30 , and then supplied to the evaporator 32 . The evaporator 32 cools the air in the air conditioning duct 41 by exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing therein and the air flowing through the air conditioning duct 41 of the air conditioning device 40 . This air is blown into the vehicle interior through the air-conditioning duct 41, thereby cooling the vehicle interior. In the evaporator 32, the low-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant is transferred to a low-pressure gas-phase refrigerant by heat exchange with air. After the low-pressure gas-phase refrigerant is compressed by the pump provided in the heat pump device 30 and transferred to a high-temperature and high-pressure gas-phase refrigerant, it is supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 and cooled again.

On the other hand, when the air conditioner 40 operates in the heating mode, the heat pump device 30 circulates the refrigerant through the outdoor heat exchanger 6 and the water-cooled condenser 31 . At this time, the outdoor heat exchanger 6 operates as a heat sink. That is, the outdoor heat exchanger 6 heats the refrigerant by exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing inside and the air flowing outside. The low-pressure gas-phase refrigerant generated by being heated by the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is transferred to a high-temperature and high-pressure gas-phase refrigerant by the pump provided in the heat pump device 30 , and then supplied to the water-cooled condenser 31 . In the water-cooled condenser 31 , the cooling water is heated by exchanging heat between the high-temperature and high-pressure gas-phase refrigerant supplied from the heat pump device 30 and the cooling water flowing in the cooling water circuit 42 of the air conditioner 40 . In the cooling water circuit 42 , in addition to the water-cooled condenser 31 , a heater core 43 and a pump 44 of the air conditioner 40 are provided. The pump 44 circulates cooling water in the cooling water circuit 42 . The heater core 43 heats the air flowing in the air-conditioning duct 41 by exchanging heat between the cooling water flowing therein and the air flowing in the air-conditioning duct 41 . The air is blown into the vehicle interior through the air-conditioning duct 41 to heat the vehicle interior. In the water-cooled condenser 31, high-temperature and high-pressure gas-phase refrigerant is transferred into high-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant through heat exchange with cooling water. The high-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant is decompressed and transferred to a low-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant by a pressure reducing valve provided in the heat pump device 30 , and then is supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 to be heated again.

Next, a schematic configuration of the damper device 8 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the damper device 8 includes a frame 50 , a plurality of blades 51 , and a motor 52 .

The frame 50 has a frame main body 500 formed in a rectangular frame shape, and a vertical frame reinforcement 501 and a lateral frame reinforcement 502 arranged in a cross shape inside the frame main body 500 . In the space inside the frame main body 500 , the air introduced from the grille opening 2 shown in FIG. 1 flows in the direction indicated by the arrow Y. As shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction X of the frame main body 500 is also referred to as a left-right direction, and the short-side direction Z of the frame main body 500 is also referred to as an up-down direction. In addition, the direction shown by the arrow Y perpendicular to both the left-right direction X and the up-down direction Z is also referred to as "air flow direction Y".

The vertical frame reinforcement part 501 is provided to reinforce the frame main body part 500 . The transverse frame reinforcement part 502 is provided for reinforcing the frame main body part 500 and holding the blade 51 . The space inside the frame main body 500 is divided into four opening areas A11 to A14 by the vertical frame reinforcement 501 and the lateral frame reinforcement 502 .

In addition, hereinafter, among the four opening areas A11 to A14, the two opening areas A11 and A12 arranged above the horizontal frame reinforcement part 502 are referred to as "upper side opening areas A11 and A12", and will be compared with the horizontal frame reinforcement part 502. The two opening areas A13 and A14 disposed below the reinforcing portion 502 are referred to as "lower opening areas A13 and A14".

As shown in FIG. 1 , substantially lower half portions of the lower opening areas A13 and A14 are positioned to face the grille opening 2 . The opening area of the grill opening 2 is smaller than the respective front surface projected areas of the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . In the present embodiment, the lower opening areas A13 and A14 correspond to the first portion. In addition, the upper opening areas A11 and A12 correspond to a second site that is farther from the grill opening 2 than the first site.

The upper portion 5 a of the radiator 5 and the upper portion 6 a of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 are arranged to face the upper opening areas A11 and A12 of the damper device 8 . The lower part 5b of the radiator 5 other than the upper part 5a and the lower part 6b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 other than the upper part 6a are arranged so as to face the lower opening areas A13 and A14 of the damper device 8 . . In addition, the two-dot chain line described in the heat sink 5 of FIG. 1 shows the boundary part of the upper part 5a of the heat sink 5, and the lower part 5b. Similarly, the two-dot chain line described in the outdoor heat exchanger 6 indicates the boundary portion between the upper part 6 a and the lower part 6 b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the plurality of vanes 51 are respectively arranged in the four opening areas A11 to A14 of the frame 50 . In the four opening areas A11 to A14, the plurality of blades 51 are arranged so as to have a longitudinal direction in the up-down direction Z, and are arranged side by side in the left-right direction X. As shown in FIG. Hereinafter, for convenience, among the plurality of blades 51, the blades 51 disposed in the upper opening areas A11 and A12 of the frame main body 500 are referred to as "upper blades 511", and the blades 51 disposed in the lower opening areas A13 and A14 are referred to as "upper blades 511". The blade 51 is referred to as a "lower blade 512". In this embodiment, the vane 51 corresponds to the opening and closing unit, the lower vane 512 corresponds to the first opening and closing unit, and the upper vane 511 corresponds to the second opening and closing unit.

The motor 52 is fixed to one end of the upper surface of the frame main body 500 with screws or the like. The motor 52 rotates the blades 511 , 512 by applying rotational force to the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 via a link mechanism not shown. In addition, the damper device 8 of the present embodiment can independently control the respective opening degrees of the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 .

In this damper device 8, when the upper blades 511 and the lower blades 512 are opened, a gap is formed between the upper blades 511 and a gap is formed between the lower blades 512. In these gaps, the air introduced from the grill opening 2 is supplied to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . On the other hand, when the upper vane 511 and the lower vane 512 are in the closed state, the gap between the vanes 511, 512 is closed, so that the supply of air to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is cut off. In addition, by independently controlling the openings of the upper blades 511 and the lower blades 512, it is possible to individually adjust the amount of air supplied to the upper part 5a and the lower part 5b of the radiator 5 shown in FIG. The amount of air supplied by the upper part 6a and the lower part 6b of the device 6.

Next, the electrical configuration of the vehicle C will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the vehicle C is provided with various sensors 60 for detecting its driving state, the state of the cooling circuit 20 , the state of the heat pump device 30 , the environmental state inside and outside the vehicle C, and the like. The sensors 60 include an outside air temperature sensor 61 , a vehicle speed sensor 62 , a refrigerant pressure sensor 63 , a water temperature sensor 64 , an inside air temperature sensor 65 , an outside air temperature sensor 66 , and the like. The outside air temperature sensor 61 detects the temperature of outside air which is air outside the vehicle C. As shown in FIG. The vehicle speed sensor 62 detects the vehicle speed as the running speed of the vehicle C. As shown in FIG. The refrigerant pressure sensor 63 detects the pressure of the refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 in the heat pump device 30 . The water temperature sensor 64 detects the temperature of the cooling water flowing out of the heating element 22 in the cooling circuit 20 . The interior air temperature sensor 65 detects the interior air temperature which is the temperature of the interior of the vehicle C. As shown in FIG. Each of the sensors 61 to 65 outputs a signal corresponding to the detected physical quantity.

The vehicle C is provided with a start switch 70 that is operated when the vehicle C is started, and an operation unit 71 for operating the air conditioner 40 . Operation unit 71 includes an A/C switch 710 that is operated when cooling or dehumidifying the vehicle interior.

Further, the vehicle C is also provided with a powertrain ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 80 , an air conditioner ECU 81 , and a thermal system ECU 82 . ECU80-82 is comprised centering on the microcomputer which has CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. ECU80-82 executes various controls by executing the program prestored in ROM. Each of the ECUs 80 to 82 can receive various information from each other by using network communication Nc such as CAN provided in the vehicle C.

The powertrain ECU 80 is a part that overall controls the running state of the vehicle C. For example, when it is detected that the starter switch 70 is turned on, and thereafter until the starter switch 70 is turned off, the powertrain ECU 80 sets the position of the motor 220 based on the accelerator position detected by the accelerator position sensor. target output torque. Then, powertrain ECU 80 sets the target energization amount of motor 220 based on the target output torque, and drives inverter device 221 so that the actual energization amount of motor 220 follows the target energization amount. The powertrain ECU 80 controls the running state of the vehicle C through such energization control of the motor 220 .

The air conditioner ECU 81 is a part that overall controls the air conditioner 40 . For example, the output signals of the inside air temperature sensor 65 and the operation unit 71 are input to the air conditioner ECU 81 . When the A/C switch 710 is turned on, the air conditioner ECU 81 operates the heat pump device 30 shown in FIG. 2 in the cooling mode to cool or dehumidify the vehicle interior. On the other hand, when the internal air temperature detected by the internal air temperature sensor 65 is equal to or lower than a predetermined heating temperature judgment value, the air conditioner ECU 81 operates the heat pump device 30 shown in FIG. Heating. The heating temperature judgment value is a preset temperature, for example, set to "15°C".

The heat system ECU 82 is a part that controls the volume of air supplied to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 by mainly driving the damper device 8 to open and close. Specifically, output signals of various sensors 60 , starter switch 70 , and operation unit 71 are input to thermal system ECU 82 . The thermal system ECU 82 detects various state quantities based on the output signal of the sensor 60 , and detects the operating states of the starter switch 70 and the operating portion 71 based on their respective output signals. The thermal system ECU 82 individually sets the respective target opening degrees of the upper vane 511 and the lower vane 512 of the damper device 8 based on various state quantities detected by the sensor 60 and the respective operating states of the starter switch 70 and the operating portion 71 , and then On top of this, the motor 52 of the damper device 8 is driven so that the respective opening degrees of the vanes 511 and 512 become the target opening degrees. Thus, in the present embodiment, the thermal system ECU 82 corresponds to a control unit that controls the damper device 8 .

Next, the drive control of the damper device 8 executed by the thermal system ECU 82 will be specifically described.

The thermal system ECU 82 repeatedly executes the processing shown in FIG. 5 at a predetermined cycle. Further, when the thermal system ECU 82 starts the process shown in FIG. 5 , it sets the respective positions of the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 of the damper device 8 as initial positions. The initial position is, for example, a position corresponding to the fully closed state.

As shown in FIG. 5 , first, as the process of step S10 , the thermal system ECU 82 determines whether or not the start switch 70 has been turned on. When the start switch 70 is not turned on, the thermal system ECU 82 makes a negative judgment in the processing of step S10 and temporarily ends the processing shown in FIG. 5 .

When the starter switch 70 is turned on, the thermal system ECU 82 makes an affirmative judgment in the processing of step S10, and judges whether or not it is necessary to heat the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 as the processing of the next step S11. supply air. For example, the thermal system ECU 82 determines that it is not necessary to supply air to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 based on the simultaneous satisfaction of the conditions shown in (a1) and (a2) below.

(a1) A case where the A/C switch 710 is not turned on and the internal air temperature detected by the internal air temperature sensor 65 is higher than the heating temperature determination value. That is, it is not necessary to operate the heat pump device 30 in either the cooling mode or the heating mode.

(a2) When the temperature of the cooling water detected by the water temperature sensor 64 is equal to or less than a predetermined temperature judgment value. That is, it is not necessary to cool the heating element 22 . The temperature determination value is set in advance as a value capable of determining whether or not cooling of the heating element 22 is necessary.

Also, regarding (a2), for example, when the motor 220, the inverter device 221, and the battery 222 included in the heating element 22 are provided with water temperature sensors 64, the temperature judgment values can be set individually for the respective cooling water temperatures. In this case, the temperature judgment value for the cooling water temperature of the motor 220 is set to, for example, "65°C", and the temperature judgment value for the cooling water temperature of the battery 222 is set to, for example, "40°C".

When the above-mentioned conditions (a1) and (a2) are satisfied, thermal system ECU 82 determines that air supply to radiator 5 and outdoor heat exchanger 6 is unnecessary, and makes a negative determination in the process of step S11. In this case, thermal system ECU 82 executes full closing control to bring upper opening areas A11 , A12 and lower opening areas A13 , A14 of damper device 8 into a fully closed state as processing in step S12 . Specifically, the thermal system ECU 82 drives the motor 52 so that both the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 are fully closed. Thereby, the introduction of the air passing through the grille opening 2 is blocked, and the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle C can be improved. Therefore, the power economy of the vehicle C can be improved.

On the other hand, when at least one of the conditions (a1) and (a2) above is not satisfied, thermal system ECU 82 determines that air needs to be supplied to at least one of radiator 5 and outdoor heat exchanger 6 . For example, when the condition of (a1) is not satisfied, the A/C switch 710 is not turned on or the internal air temperature detected by the internal air temperature sensor 65 is not higher than the heating temperature judgment value. In the former case, since it is necessary to operate the heat pump device 30 in the cooling mode, it is necessary to supply air to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . In addition, in the latter case, it is necessary to operate the heat pump device 30 in the heating mode, and thus it is necessary to supply air to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . Furthermore, when the condition of (a2) is not satisfied, that is, when the temperature of the cooling water of the heat generating body 22 exceeds a predetermined temperature judgment value, it is necessary to drive the cooling circuit 20 to cool the heat generating body 22, so it is necessary to supply heat to the radiator. 5 supply air.

When it is determined that at least one of the above-mentioned conditions (a1) and (a2) is not satisfied, and it is necessary to supply air to at least one of the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6, the thermal system ECU 82 In the process, affirmative judgment is made, and as the next step S13 process, opening degree adjustment control for adjusting the respective opening degrees of the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 of the damper device 8 is executed. Specifically, the thermal system ECU 82 sets both the upper vane 511 and the lower vane 512 to an open state, and drives the motor 52 so that the opening degree of the upper vane 511 is smaller than that of the lower vane 512 as shown in FIG. 1 . Spend. When both the upper vane 511 and the lower vane 512 are opened, air can be supplied to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 , so that the cooling circuit 20 and the heat pump device 30 can be driven.

As shown in FIG. 5 , when the process of step S12 or step S13 is executed, as the process of step S14 , thermal system ECU 82 determines whether or not start switch 70 has been turned off. When the starter switch 70 is not turned off, the thermal system ECU 82 makes a negative judgment in the process of step S14, and returns to the process of step S11. On the other hand, when the thermal system ECU 82 makes an affirmative judgment in the process of step S14, that is, when the start switch 70 is turned off, as the process of step S15, the upper blade 511 and the lower After the side blades 512 are displaced to the initial position, the processing shown in FIG. 5 is temporarily terminated.

According to the vehicle C of the present embodiment described above, the operations and effects shown in the following (1) to (5) can be obtained.

(1) By making the opening of the lower vane 512 smaller than the opening of the upper vane 511, the air becomes easier to open to the upper opening areas A11, A12 than the lower opening areas A13, A14 of the damper device 8. flow. Therefore, the pressure of the air in the lower parts 5b and 6b of the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can be changed to be higher, and the pressure of the air in the upper parts 5a and 6a can be changed to be lower. In this way, the variation in the air pressure due to the variation in the opening degree of the damper device 8 can be reduced, thereby reducing the variation in the air pressure due to the position of the grill opening 2 . As a result, variations in the air volumes of the air supplied to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can be reduced, thereby improving their heat exchange efficiency.

(2) The damper device 8 includes one motor 52 that operates the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 . According to this configuration, the number of components can be reduced compared to a configuration in which a motor for operating the upper blade 511 and a motor for operating the lower blade 512 are provided separately.

(3) The damper device 8 is arranged directly in front of the radiator 5 in the air flow direction. According to this configuration, the damper device 8 can be installed using the space provided in front of the radiator 5 .

(4) As shown in FIG. 1 , the width H11 of the grille opening 2 in the vertical direction Z of the vehicle C is shorter than the width H12 of the lower opening areas A13 and A14 of the damper device 8 in the vertical direction Z of the vehicle C. By setting the width of the grille opening 2 short as in this configuration, the volume of air taken into the air guide duct 4 can be reduced, and thus the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle C can be improved.

(5) When the start switch 70 of the vehicle C is turned off, the thermal system ECU 82 displaces the upper vane 511 and the lower vane 512 to the initial positions. According to this configuration, the respective positions of the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 can be corrected every time the starter switch 70 is turned off.

(6) The thermal system ECU 82 controls the respective opening degrees of the upper vane 511 and the lower vane 512 according to the operating states of the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . According to this configuration, it is possible to realize a more appropriate flow of air corresponding to the respective operating states of the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 .

<Second Embodiment>

Next, a vehicle C according to the second embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, description will focus on differences from the vehicle C of the first embodiment.

As one of the operating conditions of the heat pump device 30 , consider a situation where the heat pump device 30 operates in the heating mode in an environment where the outside air temperature is low. In such a situation, if water entering from the grille opening 2 adheres to the damper 8, the attached water freezes, and the blades 511, 512 of the damper 8 may not be able to open and close. In such a case, when an abnormality of the damper device 8 is detected because the vanes 511 and 512 cannot open and close, an indicator of the vehicle C lights up, which may confuse the driver.

On the other hand, in damper device 8 , lower blades 512 arranged near grille opening 2 are more likely to get wet, and upper blades 511 arranged apart from grille opening 2 are less likely to get wet. In consideration of this, in an environment where there is a possibility that the adhered water may freeze, if the lower blade 512 is kept closed and only the upper blade 511 is opened and closed, even if the lower blade 512 is wetted by water, Even in case of freezing, air can be supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 through the upper opening areas A11 and A12. Therefore, it is possible to operate the heat pump device 30 in the heating mode. Specifically, the thermal system ECU 82 controls the damper device 8 as follows.

The heat system ECU 82 of the present embodiment acquires information on the operating state of the heat pump device 30 from the air conditioner ECU 81 . In the process of step S13 shown in FIG. 5 , thermal system ECU 82 determines whether or not heat pump device 30 is operating in the heating mode and the outside air temperature detected by outside air temperature sensor 61 is below the freezing determination temperature. The freezing judgment temperature is a temperature judging value for judging whether or not the outside air temperature is at which water may freeze when water adheres to the damper device 8 , and is set in advance to, for example, "5°C". When it is judged that the heat pump device 30 is operating in the heating mode and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 61 is below the freezing judgment temperature, the thermal system ECU 82 drives the motor 52 so that the upper blades as shown in FIG. 6 511 is in an open state, and the lower blade 512 is in a closed state.

According to the vehicle C of the present embodiment described above, the operation and effect shown in the following (7) can be further obtained.

(7) According to the configuration of the vehicle C of the present embodiment, the heat pump device 30 can be operated in the heating mode even in an environment where the damper device 8 is likely to freeze due to water. Therefore, the heating of the vehicle interior can be continued, and the comfort of the vehicle interior can be ensured.

<Third Embodiment>

Next, a vehicle C according to a third embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, description will focus on differences from the vehicle C of the first embodiment.

The outdoor heat exchanger 6 is generally constituted to have a plurality of tubes and tanks respectively connected to both ends of the tubes. In the outdoor heat exchanger 6, the refrigerant flowing inside each tube exchanges heat with the air flowing outside each tube. In the outdoor heat exchanger 6 constituted by such a structure, when frost adheres to the surface of the tubes, the heat transfer area with respect to the air is substantially reduced, and thus the heat exchange efficiency may be significantly reduced. Therefore, the heat pump device 30 operates in a so-called defrosting mode that melts frost when it adheres to the surface of the tubes of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . In the defrosting mode, for example, the refrigerant circulates through the outdoor heat exchanger 6 with the supply of air to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 cut off. Thereby, frost adhering to the surface of the tube can be melted by the heat of the refrigerant.

On the other hand, in the defrosting mode, in order to cut off the supply of air to the outdoor heat exchanger 6, both the upper vane 511 and the lower vane 512 of the damper device 8 may be closed. However, when these vanes 511, 512 are both closed, air cannot be supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 6, and therefore the heat pump device 30 cannot be operated in the heating mode. That is, heating of the vehicle interior cannot be performed, and the comfort of the vehicle interior may be impaired.

Therefore, in the process of step S13 shown in FIG. 5 , thermal system ECU 82 of this embodiment determines that heat pump device 30 is operating in the defrosting mode after acquiring information on the operating state of heat pump device 30 from air conditioner ECU 81 . Next, the controls shown in (b1) and (b2) below are alternately executed at predetermined time intervals.

(b1) The motor 52 is driven so that the upper blade 511 is in the open state and the lower blade 512 is in the closed state as shown in FIG. 7(A) .

(b2) The motor 52 is driven so that the upper blade 511 is in the closed state and the lower blade 512 is in the open state as shown in FIG. 7(B) .

Thus, in the vehicle C, the first state corresponding to (b1) and the second state corresponding to (b2) are alternately switched.

According to the vehicle C of the present embodiment described above, the action and effect shown in (8) below can be obtained.

(8) When the above-mentioned control of (b1) is performed, air is supplied to the upper part 6a of the outdoor heat exchanger 6, so this part can be used as a heat absorber. Moreover, since air is not supplied to the lower part 6b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6, the frost attached to this part can be melt|melted by the heat of a refrigerant|coolant. That is, the upper part 6a functions as a heat absorption area, and the lower part 6b functions as a defrosting area. On the other hand, when the above-mentioned control of (b2) is performed, since air is supplied to the lower part 6b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6, this part can be used as a heat absorber. In addition, since air is not supplied to the upper part 6a of the outdoor heat exchanger 6, the frost adhering to this part can be melted by the heat of a refrigerant|coolant. That is, the upper part 6a functions as a defrosting area, and the lower part 6b functions as a heat absorbing area. According to this structure, since the frost adhered to the upper part 6a and the lower part 6b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can be removed simultaneously, the fall of the performance of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 by the adhesion of frost can be avoided. In addition, since the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can continue to be used as a heat absorber, continuous heating of the vehicle interior becomes possible.

<Fourth Embodiment>

Next, a vehicle C according to a fourth embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, description will focus on differences from the vehicle C of the third embodiment.

When the heat pump device 30 is driven in the defrosting mode, water generated by melting frost remains on the surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . When this water freezes, the heat exchange efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 may be significantly lowered, or freezing crack may occur in the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . Therefore, it is desirable to remove the water accumulated on the surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 as much as possible.

Therefore, the heat system ECU 82 of the present embodiment further executes the drain mode for removing water from the surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 after the heat pump device 30 operates in the defrosting mode.

Specifically, as the drainage mode, thermal system ECU 82 alternately executes the controls shown in (b1) and (b2) above at predetermined time intervals. Thus, for example, when switching from the control of (b1) above to the control of (b2) above, the lower portion 6b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is switched from a state where air does not flow to a state where air flows. Therefore, the air volume of the air flowing through the lower portion 6b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can be changed rapidly. This sudden change in air volume blows off the water accumulated in the lower portion 6 b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . Moreover, when switching from the control of (b2) mentioned above to the control of (b1) mentioned above, the water accumulated in the upper part 6a of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is blown away. As a result, water accumulated in the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can be removed.

According to the vehicle C of the present embodiment described above, the action and effect shown in (9) below can be obtained.

(9) After the heat pump device 30 operates in the defrosting mode, the thermal system ECU 82 executes a drainage mode in which the air volume of the air passing through the upper part 6 a and the lower part 6 b of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is changed rapidly, thereby removing heat accumulated in the outdoor. Exchanger 6 water. Thereby, the water accumulated in the outdoor heat exchanger 6 due to execution of the defrosting mode can be removed, so that a decrease in the heat exchange efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 , freezing cracks, and the like can be avoided.

<Fifth Embodiment>

Next, a vehicle C according to a fifth embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, description will focus on differences from the vehicle C of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8 , in vehicle C according to the present embodiment, radiator 5 and outdoor heat exchanger 6 are thermally connected via outer fins 9 . That is, heat exchange can be performed between the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 via the outer fins 9 . Thus, for example, when the outdoor heat exchanger 6 operates as a heat sink, the waste heat of the radiator 5 can be transferred to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 via the outer fins 9, so that the thermal efficiency of the vehicle C as a whole can be improved. As a result, the electric power economy of the vehicle C can be improved.

On the other hand, when transferring the waste heat of the radiator 5 to the outdoor heat exchanger 6, it is effective to make both the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 of the damper device 8 into the closed state. Accordingly, since the radiator 5 is not cooled by the air, the waste heat of the radiator 5 can be efficiently transferred to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . However, merely transferring the waste heat from the radiator 5 to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 may not be able to meet the heating requirement of the air conditioner 40 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9 , the radiator 5 is configured such that cooling water flows in a U-shape from the lower portion 5 b toward the upper portion 5 a. In this case, as the heat of the radiator 5 is transferred to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 via the outer fins 9 , the temperature of the cooling water flowing inside the radiator 5 decreases as it goes downstream. That is, the temperature of the upper part 5a of the radiator 5 becomes lower than the temperature of the lower part 5b of the radiator 5 . Therefore, the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can absorb the required heat from the lower part 5b of the radiator 5, but may not be able to absorb the required heat from the upper part 5a of the radiator 5 at the same time. As a result, the heat absorbed by the outdoor heat exchanger 6 as a whole is insufficient, and the air blown into the vehicle interior cannot be sufficiently heated by the air conditioner 40. Therefore, it is difficult to perform proper heating of the vehicle interior, which may impair the comfort of the vehicle interior. .

Therefore, when the heat absorbed by the outdoor heat exchanger 6 cannot be satisfied only by transferring the heat of the radiator 5 to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 through the outer fins 9, the thermal system ECU 82 of this embodiment drives the motor 52 so that As shown in FIG. 8 , the upper blade 511 is in the open state, and the lower blade 512 is in the closed state. Thereby, in the outdoor heat exchanger 6, the waste heat of the radiator 5 can be absorbed in the lower part 6b via the outer fin 9, and the heat of the insufficient amount can be absorbed from the air in the upper part 6a. As a result, it is possible to ensure the required heat absorption amount of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 as a whole.

According to the vehicle C of the present embodiment described above, the operation and effect shown in the following (10) can be obtained.

(10) When the outdoor heat exchanger 6 operates as a heat absorber that allows the refrigerant to absorb the heat of the radiator 5 via the outer fins 9 , the thermal system ECU 82 sets the upper fins 511 to the open state, and turns the lower fins 511 to the open state. 512 is set to the closed state. According to this structure, since the heat absorption amount of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 can be ensured more reliably, the heating of a vehicle interior can be performed suitably. Accordingly, comfort in the vehicle interior can be ensured.

<Sixth Embodiment>

Next, a vehicle C according to a sixth embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, description will focus on differences from the vehicle C of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10 , a vehicle C according to the present embodiment is equipped with a multifunctional heat exchanger 10 instead of the radiator 5 and a radiator 11 instead of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 .

The multifunctional heat exchanger 10 has a first heat exchange portion 10A at its lower portion and a second heat exchange portion 10B at its upper portion. The first heat exchange unit 10A is used as the outdoor heat exchanger 6 of the heat pump device 30 described above. The first heat exchange portion 10A is arranged to face the lower opening areas A13 and A14 of the damper device 8 . Cooling water for cooling the battery 222 flows inside the second heat exchange portion 10B. The second heat exchange portion 10B cools the cooling water by exchanging heat between the cooling water flowing inside and the air flowing outside it. The second heat exchange portion 10B is arranged to face the upper opening areas A11 and A12 of the damper device 8 .

Cooling water for cooling the motor 220 flows inside the radiator 11 . The radiator 11 cools the cooling water by exchanging heat between the cooling water flowing inside it and the air flowing outside it. The upper portion 11 a of the radiator 11 is disposed so as to face the upper opening areas A11 and A12 of the damper device 8 . The lower part 11b of the heat sink 11 is disposed so as to face the lower opening areas A13 and A14.

In this way, in vehicle C of the present embodiment, the cooling circuit for cooling motor 220 and the cooling circuit for cooling battery 222 are provided independently. In the radiator 11, cooling water whose temperature is higher than that of the second heat exchange portion 10B can be cooled. In this embodiment, the motor 220 corresponds to the first heating element, and the battery 222 corresponds to the second heating element.

When cooling of battery 222 is not requested, thermal system ECU 82 drives motor 52 so that upper blade 511 is closed and lower blade 512 is opened as shown in FIG. 10 . Thus, the air introduced from the grill opening 2 flows only to the first heat exchange portion 10A of the multifunctional heat exchanger 10, and the air flows to both the first heat exchange portion 10A and the second heat exchange portion 10B. Compared with the case, it is possible to increase the air volume of the air flowing into the first heat exchange portion 10A.

In addition, when the heat pump device 30 is stopped, the thermal system ECU 82 may drive the motor 52 so that the upper vane 511 is in the open state and the lower vane 512 is in the closed state.

According to the vehicle C of the present embodiment described above, the action and effect shown in the following (11) can be obtained.

(11) When cooling of the battery 222 is not requested, the thermal system ECU 82 sets the lower vane 512 to the open state and sets the upper vane 511 to the closed state. According to this configuration, air is not supplied to the first heat exchange portion 10A of the multifunctional heat exchanger 10 that does not need to exchange heat with air, and an amount corresponding to it can be exchanged with the second heat exchange portion of the multifunctional heat exchanger 10. Part 10B supplies and increases the volume of air. Therefore, for example, when the first heat exchange unit 10A is used as a condenser in the heat pump device 30 , the refrigerant flowing through the first heat exchange unit 10A can be cooled more reliably, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the refrigerant. Therefore, it becomes possible to downsize the first heat exchange part 10A and the like.

＜Other Embodiments＞

In addition, the above-described embodiment can also be implemented in the following manner.

The structure of the vehicle C of the fifth embodiment, that is, the structure in which the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 are thermally connected via the outer fins 9 can also be applied to the vehicle C of the third embodiment. According to this configuration, when the heat pump device 30 executes the defrosting mode for removing frost adhering to the surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 , instead of utilizing the heat of the refrigerant circulating inside the outdoor heat exchanger 6 , it can be used. A method of utilizing heat transferred from the radiator 5 to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 via the outer fins 9 .

The damper device 8 is not limited to having two opening and closing sections of the upper blade 511 and the lower blade 512 , but may have three or more opening and closing sections.

The damper device 8 may be arranged between the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 , or may be arranged directly behind the outdoor heat exchanger 6 in the air flow direction.

In the vehicles C according to the first to fifth embodiments, the damper device 8 arranged in front of the radiator 5 is used as an opening and closing device for changing the volume of air supplied to the radiator 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 . . Instead, a damper mechanism having the same or similar function as that of the damper device 8 may be provided on the fan cover of the air blower 7 . In this case, the damper mechanism provided in the air blower 7 corresponds to an opening and closing device. The same applies to the vehicle C of the sixth embodiment.

The vehicle C may not be provided with the air guide duct 4 .

The thermal system ECU 82 and its control method described in the present invention can be realized by one or more special-purpose computers programmed in such a way as to execute one or more functions embodied by computer programs. processor and memory are provided. The thermal system ECU 82 and its control method described in the present invention can also be realized by a dedicated computer, which is provided by configuring a processor including one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. The thermal system ECU 82 and the control method thereof described in the present invention can also be realized by one or more special-purpose computers, and the one or more special-purpose computers are programmed with a processor and memory in a manner of executing one or more functions and include A combination of one or more hardware logic circuits and processors. The computer program may also be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible storage medium as instructions executed by the computer. Dedicated hardware logic circuits and hardware logic circuits may also be implemented by digital or analog circuits comprising multiple logic circuits.

The configurations of the respective embodiments are not limited to electric vehicles, but can also be applied to hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. For example, the configurations of the second to fourth embodiments and the sixth embodiment can be applied to a hybrid vehicle. In addition, the configurations of the first to fourth embodiments and the sixth embodiment can be applied to a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

The present invention is not limited to the specific examples described above. Examples that are appropriately modified by those skilled in the art from the above specific examples are included in the scope of the present invention as long as they have the characteristics of the present invention. Each element included in each of the above-mentioned specific examples, and its arrangement, conditions, shape, etc. are not limited to the illustrated content and can be appropriately changed. Combinations of the various elements included in the aforementioned specific examples can be appropriately changed as long as no technical conflict arises.

Claims (10)

1. A vehicle, characterized in that it possesses: heat exchangers (5, 6, 10, 11) for exchanging heat with the air introduced from the grille openings (2); an opening and closing device (8), the opening and closing device can change the air volume of the air supplied to the heat exchanger through the opening and closing action of the opening and closing part (51); and a control unit (82) that controls the opening and closing device, The opening area of the grill opening is smaller than the projected area of the front surface of the heat exchanger, The opening and closing device has a first opening and closing part (512) and a second opening and closing part (511) as the opening and closing part, and the first opening and closing part corresponds to the first part (A13, A14) of the opening and closing device. Opening and closing, the second opening and closing part opens and closes the second part (A11, A12) farther from the grille opening than the first part in the opening and closing device, The control unit operates the first opening and closing unit and the second opening and closing unit so that the opening degree of the first portion is smaller than the opening degree of the second portion. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: The opening and closing device is arranged directly in front or in the rear of the air flow direction with respect to the heat exchanger. 3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that A width of the grill opening in the vertical direction of the vehicle is shorter than a width of the second portion in the vertical direction of the vehicle. 4. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The control unit displaces the first opening and closing unit and the second opening and closing unit to initial positions when a start switch of the vehicle is turned off. 5. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The control unit controls opening degrees of the first opening and closing unit and the second opening and closing unit according to an operating state of the heat exchanger. 6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein: An outdoor heat exchanger (6) is provided as the heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant circulating in the heat pump device (30) and air, In the heat pump device, when the outdoor heat exchanger operates as a heat absorber for causing the refrigerant to absorb heat from air, and the temperature of the air is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, the control unit sets the first opening and closing unit to is in a closed state, and sets the second opening and closing part in an open state. 7. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein: An outdoor heat exchanger (6) and a radiator (5) are provided as the heat exchanger, and the outdoor heat exchanger exchanges heat between the refrigerant circulating in the heat pump device (30) and the air, and the radiator cools the The cooling water of the heating element of the vehicle exchanges heat with the air, The outdoor heat exchanger and the radiator are thermally connected via outer fins (9), When the outdoor heat exchanger operates as a heat sink for causing the refrigerant to absorb heat from the radiator via the outer fins, the control unit sets the first opening and closing unit to a closed state, and The second opening and closing unit is set to an open state. 8. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein: having a radiator (11) and an outdoor heat exchanger (10) as said heat exchanger, The radiator exchanges heat between the cooling water cooling the first heat generating body of the vehicle and the air, The outdoor heat exchanger has a first heat exchange part (10A) for exchanging heat between the refrigerant circulating in the heat pump device (30) and air, and a second heat exchange part (10B). The heat exchanging unit exchanges heat between cooling water cooling a second heat generating body different from the first heat generating body and air, In the outdoor heat exchanger, the first heat exchange part is disposed opposite to the first part of the switch device, and the second heat exchange part is arranged opposite to the first part of the switch device. The two parts are relatively arranged, When cooling of the second heating element is not requested, the control unit sets the first opening and closing unit to an open state, and sets the second opening and closing unit to a closed state. 9. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein: An outdoor heat exchanger (6) is provided as the heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant circulating in the heat pump device (30) and air, In the heat pump device, when the outdoor heat exchanger operates as a heat absorber for causing the refrigerant to absorb heat from air, the control unit alternately switches between a first state and a second state in which the first state changes the second state. A switch part is set to a closed state, and the second switch part is set to an open state, and the second state sets the first switch part to an open state, and sets the second switch part to an open state. The closing part is set to the closed state. 10. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The opening and closing device also has a motor (52), which operates the first opening and closing part and the second opening and closing part.

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