DE102023203863A1 - Thermal management module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a thermal management module for electric vehicles comprising a reservoir and a manifold, the thermal management module being composed of two half-shells, each comprising a manifold half-shell and a reservoir half-shell as a single piece, the two half-shells being connected to each other.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the technical field of thermal management of components of the drive train and the high-voltage system of battery-electric vehicles (BEV). Thermal management systems direct energy from heat sources to heat sinks. Heat sinks include, for example, a radiator in the front end of the vehicle, a chiller in the heat pump circuit or, under certain conditions, a high-voltage storage device. The general goal is to use energy as efficiently as possible. Thermal management modules for electric vehicles typically include a distributor and possibly a reservoir. The invention relates to such a thermal management module.

BACKGROUND

For example, a similar thermal management module that includes a distributor and a reservoir is available US 10,665,908 B2 known. The reservoir contains the coolant, and the distributor contains pumps, valves and fluid management. Typically, the prior art reservoirs are divided horizontally into two main parts and closed with a welded lid as the upper main part. Further, typical prior art reservoirs have a plurality of coolant degassing chambers separated by vertical walls. Additionally, the prior art reservoirs may be mounted and sealed to a manifold that includes pumps, valves, and a fluid line. In the above US 10,665,908 B2 For example, the distributor is integrated into the lower shell of the reservoir. The manifold is usually welded from two or more parts along one or more welds.

A thermal management module for electric vehicles according to the above technical field includes a distributor and a reservoir. The distributor includes pumps, valves and a fluid line. The distributor is typically composed of two or more parts. The reservoir contains coolant and a coolant level sensor and is typically split horizontally and capped at the top with a welded lid.

TECHNICAL TASK

The problem is that it is difficult to connect and seal the distributor and reservoir, particularly when the parts are made of different materials and therefore have different thermal material behavior and geometric tolerances. Permanently effective sealing of the parts is difficult due to the relative movement between the parts and different thermal expansion behavior during operation. Therefore, an improved assembly method for connecting the manifold and the reservoir is required.

In general, a horizontal weld allows the reservoir to contain a plurality of vertical chambers to direct the fluid along the path from the inlet or outlet and ensure degassing of the fluid, which is one of the main functions of the reservoir. The vertical chambers can only be made in one direction with a horizontal weld.

Furthermore, level sensors are used in the reservoir to determine the level of the fluid. These level sensors typically include two pins that are inserted into the reservoir from above and can emerge from the fluid if the reservoir tilts or fluid is lost, resulting in an error message. This can be avoided by providing additional fluid volume, which, however, would only delay fluid loss. The amount of additional fluid volume required to avoid reservoir tilt errors increases as the horizontal distance between the two pins of the level sensor increases.

Against this background, an aim of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems.

This task is solved by a heat management module according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments are described in the further claims.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a thermal management module for electric vehicles that includes a reservoir and a manifold. The thermal management module is composed of two half-shells, each comprising a distributor half-shell and a reservoir half-shell as a single piece, with the two half-shells connected together.

The half-shells, each containing a reservoir half-shell and a distributor half-shell, are designed to form the thermal management module by assembling and connecting. The two half-shells do not have to be the same size, but can be of different sizes and be differently shaped, provided they are complementary shaped to be connected and sealed together to form a thermal management module according to the invention.

The half-shells are preferably made of a plastic, more preferably of thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic, and are produced by a shaping process, for example injection molding. For this purpose, the half-shells are designed in such a way that they can be removed from the mold in a single demoulding direction and production can therefore be carried out easily and cost-effectively.

The design of the half-shells themselves is advantageous in that the shape enables simple and economically advantageous shaping, e.g. B. in that a single demolding direction and thus a small number of production steps can be implemented. The integral construction of the two distributor half-shells and reservoir half-shells, each in one piece, reduces the number of components of the thermal management module and thus complexity and manufacturing costs. In addition, the assembly involves fewer work steps and the fastening and sealing between the distributor and the reservoir is better ensured due to the small number of joints. On the one hand, the small number of components and assembly steps is realized and, on the other hand, a solid, geometrically defined and effectively fluidically sealed connection of the reservoir and the distributor is formed, since the integral design of the distributor and reservoir half-shells minimizes the number of components and joints.

The distributor of the heat management module according to the invention preferably contains at least one pump, a valve and a fluid line. These components are designed to convey cooling fluid and direct it into a cooling fluid circuit of the electric vehicle in order to ensure heat and, if necessary, cooling management for optimal use or dissipation of heat in the components mentioned at the beginning.

The heat management module is preferably designed in such a way that the two half-shells are connected along a common connecting seam that lies in one plane or in any case has no steps. This structural design means that the two half-shells can be joined together in a simple and efficient manner. Furthermore, the production of the half-shells can also be carried out efficiently, since, for example, an injection molding tool has a simpler geometric structure than would be the case with a stepped or freely shaped connecting seam.

Further preferably, the heat management module is designed such that the common connecting seam is arranged vertically when the heat management module is installed.

Due to the designs common in the present technical field for connecting the distributor to the rest of the cooling fluid circuit, the design of the distributor and reservoir half-shells can each be realized particularly well as a single piece, in particular with a vertically extending connecting seam. Heat management modules are often designed in such a way that the reservoir is at least partially arranged above the distributor when the heat management module is installed. In contrast to a vertically extending connecting seam, a horizontally extending connecting seam in such cases would not allow the distribution half-shells and reservoir half-shells to be designed as a single piece and more parts would be required. However, with other designs of the heat management system and other arrangements of the other components in the installation space, a horizontal or oblique connecting seam is also conceivable.

The vertical course of the connecting seam means that the connecting seam has a substantially vertical orientation when the heat management module is in an installed state in which it is installed in the vehicle. This means that when the thermal management module is installed, the connecting seam essentially lies in a plane that is arranged essentially vertically. The connecting seam does not have to be aligned strictly vertically, i.e. at an angle of 90° to the horizontal plane. Deviations from this angle, through which the functions and effects described herein can be achieved, are also encompassed by the present invention.

In a preferred embodiment, the two half-shells of the heat management module are welded together. As a welding process, e.g. B. friction welding, heating or hot mirror welding or infrared welding can be used. With the advantageous design of the heat management module according to the invention, in particular due to the design with only one connection or weld seam, these joining methods enable high efficiency in production and do not require any additional components like other joining methods, so that the total number of parts and assembly steps is kept low.

For the manufacturability of the combined reservoir and distributor parts, it is preferred, with regard to the demolding direction, to have a vertical weld seam on both the reservoir and the distributor.

The welding process is easier with only one welding direction. The manifold and reservoir are manufactured as one piece, eliminating the need for additional fastening and sealing between parts.

The reservoir is preferably essentially spherical in shape. This enables a simple molding and demoulding process and optimizes the use of installation space depending on the arrangement of the other systems and assemblies in the vehicle. Furthermore, a spherical shape is generally advantageous in terms of fluid guidance compared to e.g. B. cuboid reservoirs, since the fluid is z. B. cannot collect in corners when the heat management module is tilted and is fed more efficiently to an outlet. In addition, with a spherical shape of the reservoir, level detection is more accurate and reliable, and mechanical properties such as strength are generally better.

More preferably, the reservoir includes a reservoir inlet, a reservoir outlet and a plurality of horizontal walls. The horizontal walls are designed to guide a cooling fluid along a meandering path from the reservoir inlet to the reservoir outlet.

One of the main functions of the reservoir is the degassing of the fluid. Degassing in the thermal management module according to the present disclosure is provided by a plurality of horizontal interior walls that force the fluid on a meandering path from the inlet to the outlet of the reservoir. The meandering guidance of the path along which the cooling fluid flows from the reservoir inlet to the reservoir outlet extends the distance traveled by the cooling fluid and thus improves the effectiveness of the degassing of the cooling fluid.

Just like the reservoir itself, the horizontal walls of the reservoir are split when unassembled. Each horizontal wall has a first part in the first half-shell and a second part in the second half-shell. Due to the complementary arrangement of these structures in the two half-shells, the horizontal walls are only finally formed when the reservoir is assembled. Each horizontal wall can be continuous by placing the first part in contact with the second part. The first and second parts of each horizontal wall may in this case be welded together along the contact surface. Such a design improves the mechanical properties and in particular the strength of the entire reservoir. Alternatively, the first part and the second part of each horizontal wall can also be at a distance of preferably less than 3 millimeters from one another, which would be advantageous in terms of effective degassing.

The plurality of horizontal walls are preferably arranged such that each horizontal wall is sloped at an angle with respect to a horizontal plane toward the center of the reservoir. The angle that the horizontal walls describe in relation to the horizontal plane is acute and preferably less than 50°, more preferably less than 30°. The inclination of the horizontal walls towards the center of the reservoir supports the proper flow of the cooling fluid even when the entire thermal management module is tilted slightly. However, for the sake of clarity and comprehensibility and to differentiate them from vertically arranged walls of the prior art, they are referred to below as horizontal walls.

In a preferred embodiment, at least one horizontal wall has a drainage opening which is designed so that air can escape from an area below the horizontal wall into an area above the horizontal wall.

With horizontal walls inclined toward the center of the reservoir as described above, it is expected that air will collect below the horizontal walls during the degassing process of the cooling fluid. This air can escape into an upper area of the reservoir through the drainage opening, which is located at the highest point of the horizontal wall in the area of the transition between the horizontal wall and the reservoir body. This improves the effectiveness of degassing and reduces the risk of air being sucked into the distributor.

The reservoir comprises, independently of the features mentioned above and below, but can be combined with them in any way, a fluid level sensor which includes two fluid level sensor pins. The fluid level sensor is designed to detect whether the fluid level is below a specified minimum fluid level. The pins of the fluid level sensors are covered and insulated in such a way that only the tips of the pins are exposed and electrically conductive. The exposed tips of the pins are preferably less than 5 mm, more preferably less than 3 mm long. This is just the position of the tips of the pins is relevant for detecting the cooling fluid level. In order to keep the required fluid level as low as possible, the fluid level sensor pins are arranged essentially vertically one above the other and protrude essentially horizontally from at least one of the half-shells towards the center of the reservoir. The tip of the lower of the two level sensor pins can then be flooded at any time and the tip of the upper of the two level sensor pins can be flooded when the level of the fluid is above a minimum level. The distance between the pins along the two horizontal axes can be virtually zero, so no additional amount of coolant is required to keep the tips of both pins flooded under all reservoir slope conditions. This ensures reliable level detection even when the thermal management module is tilted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

• 1A zeigt eine perspektivische Ansicht einer bevorzugten Ausführungsform eines Wärmemanagementmoduls.
• 1B zeigt eine perspektivische Ansicht einer weiteren bevorzugten Ausführungsform eines Wärmemanagementmoduls.
• 2 zeigt eine Draufsicht einer Ausführungsform einer ersten Halbschale des Wärmemanagementmoduls in Draufsicht.
• 3 zeigt die Ausführungsform von 2 einer ersten Halbschale des Wärmemanagementmoduls in perspektivischer Ansicht.
• 4 zeigt eine Ausführungsform einer zweiten Halbschale des Wärmemanagementmoduls in der Draufsicht.
• 5 zeigt die Ausführungsform von 4 einer zweiten Halbschale des Wärmemanagementmoduls in perspektivischer Ansicht.
• 6 zeigt eine Draufsicht der Ausführungsform von 1A.
• 7 zeigt eine Seitenansicht der Ausführungsform der ersten Halbschale der 2 und 3.
• 8 zeigt eine Seitenansicht der Ausführungsform der zweiten Halbschale der 4 und 5.
• 9 zeigt eine Fluidführung innerhalb eines Reservoirs der in 7 dargestellten Ausführungsform.
• 10 zeigt das Reservoir von 9 und eine Luftführung innerhalb des Reservoirs.
• 11 zeigt eine vergrößerte Teilansicht des Reservoirs aus 10.
• 12 zeigt die Ausführungsform der 2, 3 und 7, bei der das Reservoir geneigt ist, ein Kühlfluid führt und Sensorstifte eines Fluidfüllstandsensors umfasst.

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

• 1A shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a thermal management module.
• 1B shows a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of a thermal management module.
• 2 shows a top view of an embodiment of a first half-shell of the thermal management module in a top view.
• 3 shows the embodiment of 2 a first half-shell of the thermal management module in a perspective view.
• 4 shows an embodiment of a second half-shell of the thermal management module in a top view.
• 5 shows the embodiment of 4 a second half-shell of the thermal management module in a perspective view.
• 6 shows a top view of the embodiment of 1A .
• 7 shows a side view of the embodiment of the first half-shell 2 and 3 .
• 8th shows a side view of the embodiment of the second half-shell 4 and 5 .
• 9 shows a fluid flow within a reservoir in 7 illustrated embodiment.
• 10 shows the reservoir of 9 and an air duct within the reservoir.
• 11 shows an enlarged partial view of the reservoir 10 .
• 12 shows the embodiment of the 2 , 3 and 7 , in which the reservoir is inclined, carries a cooling fluid and includes sensor pins of a fluid level sensor.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

1A shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a thermal management module 1. As in 1A can be seen, a first half-shell 10 is connected to the second half-shell 20 along the connecting seam 30. The connecting seam runs vertically. The connected half-shells 10, 20 together form the essentially spherically shaped reservoir 100 in the illustrated embodiment and the distributor 200. The distributor 200 is designed to obtain the cooling fluid 300 from different areas of a cooling fluid circuit. A partial volume of the cooling fluid 300 is held in the reservoir 100 and can be passed into the distributor 200, for example. B. to be able to compensate for and control dynamic effects. Furthermore, the distributor 200 is designed to convey the cooling fluid 300 and to return it to different areas of the cooling circuit depending on the operating point. For this purpose, it has a plurality of connections that serve as inlets or outlets and via which cooling fluid 300 can be supplied to various components, such as the radiator, the battery or drive train components, depending on requirements and operating point, in order to optimally use or dissipate heat to ensure. For this purpose, the distributor 200 contains one or more pumps and at least one valve. The cooling fluid 300 is supplied from the remaining cooling fluid circuit, not shown, to the reservoir 100 via the reservoir inlet 110 and forwarded from the reservoir 100 to the distributor 200 via the reservoir outlet 120. The reservoir 100 includes a refill neck, which is closed by a lid and via which cooling fluid 300 can be added to the cooling fluid circuit.

1B shows another embodiment of the thermal management module 1 of 1A . The embodiment shown differs from that in 1A Embodiment shown only through minor design changes. So shows 1B a slightly modified arrangement of the cooling fluid inlets and outlets. In particular, the reservoir inlet 110 is arranged next to the refill port in a vertical orientation.

2 shows a top view of an embodiment of a first half-shell 10 of the thermal management module 1 in a front view. The connecting seam 30 essentially lies in one plane. The first half-shells of the reservoir 100 and the distributor 200 are integrally designed as one piece and connected to one another.

3 shows the embodiment of 2 a first half-shell 10 of the heat management module 1 in a perspective view. In this illustration, the cover of the refill neck of the reservoir 100 is removed. The first half-shell of the reservoir 100 includes the reservoir inlet 110 and has horizontal walls 130 on the inside, which are not strictly horizontally aligned, but are slightly inclined towards the center of the reservoir 100. The first half-shell of the distributor 200 includes a plurality of fluid lines formed by a plurality of line walls.

The first half-shell 10 is designed to be complementary to the second half-shell 20 in the area of the connecting seam 30. The cavities that are open towards the connecting seam 30, such as the horizontal chambers of the reservoir 100, the reservoir outlet 120 or the fluid lines of the distributor 200, are only fully and functionally formed by connecting the first half-shell 10 to the second half-shell 20.

4 and 5 show embodiments of a second half-shell 20 of the thermal management module 1 in different views.

The second half-shell 20 is designed to be complementary to the first half-shell 10 in the area of the connecting seam 30. The cavities that are open towards the connecting seam 30 are only fully and functionally formed by connecting the first half-shell 10 to the second half-shell 20.

6 shows a top view of the embodiment of 1A . The heat management module 1 is formed by connecting the first 10 and second half-shell 20.

7 and 8th show side views of the embodiments of the 2 and 3 the first half-shell 10 and the 4 and 5 the second half-shell 20. The connecting seam 30 and all internal structures of the two half-shells 10, 20 are designed so that when the two half-shells 10, 20 are joined together, they are the heat management module 1 and all internal structures, such as the horizontal chambers of the reservoir 100 Reservoir outlet 120 or the fluid lines of the distributor 200 form complete and functional.

9 shows the fluid flow F within a reservoir 100 in FIG 7 illustrated embodiment. A partial volume of the cooling fluid is supplied via the reservoir inlet 110 and directed into the interior of the reservoir 100. It then reaches a first horizontal wall 130 and is guided over this to the horizontal wall 130 underneath. As a result, the cooling fluid follows the meandering path that the horizontal walls 130 describe to the reservoir outlet 120 in order to be directed through it to the distributor 200.

Furthermore shows 9 the fluid level sensor pins 140. The tips of the pins 140 are vertically spaced and arranged essentially exactly one above the other with the two horizontal axes. The electrically conductive tips of the pins 140 are arranged on the vertical central axis in order to minimize the influence of the inclination of the thermal management module 1 on the required cooling fluid volume in the reservoir 100.

10 shows the reservoir 100 of 9 and an air guide L within the reservoir 100. The air guide L follows a path over which air or gas, which is released by the degassing of the cooling fluid 300, is guided from a lower region to an upper region of the reservoir 100. This is basically the opposite path to the path that the cooling fluid 300 describes. Through drainage openings 132 provided for this purpose at the highest points of the horizontal walls 130, the air or gas can flow past the cooling fluid 300 and escape into an upper region of the reservoir 100.

11 is an enlarged partial view of the reservoir 100 10 and shows part of the air duct L and the air channel in the reservoir inlet 110. Air that collects in the air channel in the reservoir inlet 110 can thus escape into an area of the refill neck of the reservoir 100 and does not hinder cooling fluid 300 when entering through the reservoir inlet 110.

12 shows the embodiment of the 2 , 3 and 7 , in which the reservoir is inclined, carries a cooling fluid and includes the sensor pins of the fluid level sensor. By arranging the tips of the sensor pins vertically one above the other and centrally arranging the tip of the upper sensor pin, both tips remain flooded even with a greater inclination of the fluid level.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

1

Thermal management module

10, 20

half shells

30

connecting seam

100

reservoir

110

Reservoir inlet

120

Reservoir outlet

130

Horizontal wall

132

Drainage opening

140

Fluid level sensor pin

200

Distributor

300

Cooling fluid

F

Fluid guidance

L

Airflow

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• US 10665908 B2 [0002]

Claims (9)

Thermal management module (1) for electric vehicles, comprising a reservoir (100) and a distributor (200), in which the thermal management module (1) is composed of two half-shells (10, 20), each comprising a distributor half-shell and a reservoir half-shell as a single piece , whereby the two half-shells (10, 20) are connected to one another. Thermal management module (1). Claim 1 , in which the half-shells (10, 20) are connected along a common connecting seam (30) which lies in one plane. Thermal management module (1) according to one of the Claims 1 or 2 , in which the connecting seam (30) is arranged vertically when the thermal management module (1) is installed. Thermal management module (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , in which the two half-shells (10, 20) are welded together along the connecting seam (30). Thermal management module (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , in which the reservoir (100) is essentially spherical in shape. Thermal management module (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 , in which the reservoir (100) comprises a reservoir inlet (110), a reservoir outlet (120) and a plurality of horizontal walls (130) which are designed to flow a cooling fluid (300) along a meandering path from the reservoir inlet (110) to the Reservoir outlet (120). Thermal management module (1). Claim 6 , wherein the plurality of horizontal walls (130) are arranged such that each horizontal wall (130) is inclined at an angle with respect to a horizontal plane, sloping towards the center of the reservoir (100). Thermal management module (1). Claim 7 , in which at least one horizontal wall (130) has a drainage opening (132) which is designed so that air can escape from an area below the horizontal wall (130) into an area above the horizontal wall (130). Thermal management module (1) in particular according to one of the Claims 1 until 8th , in which the reservoir (100) comprises two fluid level sensor pins (140) which are designed to detect whether the fluid level is below a specified minimum fluid level, and wherein the fluid level sensor pins (140) are arranged essentially vertically one above the other and horizontally from at least one of the Half-shells (10, 20) protrude towards the center of the reservoir (100).

Images