JP2013113408A - Heat control device and heat control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat control device of simple and compact configuration without needing to provide a cooling device or the like separately from a heat insulating material, and a heat control method.SOLUTION: A heat control device includes a heat insulating material provided around a heat control object and having a continuous void, and a heat insulating material thickness changing means for changing thickness of the heat insulating material to change a thermal resistance of the heat insulating material.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal control device and a thermal control method.

  Rechargeable batteries used for various applications have an appropriate temperature range for fully exhibiting their performance.

  For this reason, measures such as covering with a heat insulating material are necessary in order to prevent the temperature of the rechargeable battery from being lowered in a cold place such as a cold region.

  However, if the rechargeable battery is covered with a heat insulating material or the like, the heat generated when the rechargeable battery is used cannot be released, so the temperature of the rechargeable battery rises and its performance decreases.

  Conventionally, in order to solve this problem, a thermal control device is known in which a rechargeable battery is covered with a heat insulating material and cooled by a fan or the like when the temperature of the rechargeable battery reaches a certain level (Patent Document 1).

  However, the conventional heat control device needs to be provided with a cooling device separately from the heat insulating material, and the heat control device has become large. Further, when a cooling fan or the like is provided as a cooling device, there is a problem that electric power for continuously rotating the fan is required during cooling and a very complicated wiring configuration is required. Similarly, when a heat pipe or the like is provided as a cooling device (Patent Document 2), the structure is very complicated and large.

JP 2001-76771 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-76771

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a heat control device and a heat control method having a simple and compact configuration.

  1st invention is the heat insulating material which has the continuous space | gap provided around the thermal control object, and the heat insulating material thickness change means which changes the thickness of the said heat insulating material in order to change the thermal resistance of the said heat insulating material, It is the thermal control apparatus which has.

  A second invention is an invention dependent on the first invention, wherein the heat insulating material is a resin foam.

  A third invention is an invention subordinate to the second invention, wherein the resin foam contains a soft polyurethane resin.

  4th invention is invention which is dependent on any one invention of said 1st-3rd, Comprising: The said heat insulating material contains a heat conductive filler, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  A fifth invention is an invention subordinate to the fourth invention, wherein the thermally conductive filler includes boron nitride.

  A sixth invention is an invention subordinate to the fourth or fifth invention, wherein the thermally conductive filler is oriented substantially perpendicularly to a thermal control object.

  A seventh invention is an invention subordinate to any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein the thermal control device includes a temperature acquisition means for acquiring the temperature of the thermal control object, and the thermal insulation. The material thickness changing means changes the thickness of the heat insulating material based on the temperature of the thermal control object acquired by the temperature acquisition means.

  8th invention changes the thickness of the heat insulating material provided in the circumference | surroundings of the heat control target object, and has the continuous space | gap, and controls the heat | fever of the said heat control target object by changing the thermal resistance of the said heat insulating material. This is a thermal control method.

  According to the present invention, since the thermal resistance of the heat insulating material can be changed by changing the thickness of the heat insulating material, unlike the conventional heat control device, there is no need to provide a cooling device separately from the heat insulating material. A simple and compact thermal control device and thermal control method can be provided.

Schematic which shows the thermal control apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Schematic showing a heat control device in a state where the heat insulating material 11 is compressed by the heat insulating material thickness changing means 12 Schematic which shows the thermal control apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Schematic showing a heat control device in a state where the heat insulating material 13 is compressed by the heat insulating material thickness changing means 12 Schematic which shows the thermal control apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Schematic showing a heat control device in a state where the heat insulating material 11 is compressed by the heat insulating material thickness changing means 12

(First embodiment)
A thermal control device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a thermal control apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The heat control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes at least a heat insulating material 11 and a heat insulating material thickness changing unit 12.

  The heat insulating material 11 is provided so as to cover the periphery of the thermal control object 4. The heat insulating material 11 has a heat insulating function, and insulates from the surroundings so that the temperature of the heat control object 4 does not become too low, for example, in an environment where the temperature is low, such as a cold district.

  The heat insulating material 11 is an elastic body and has a high continuous porosity. When the continuous porosity of the heat insulating material 11 is low, it is difficult for air in the gap to escape, so the heat insulating material 11 cannot be compressed (described later), and the thermal resistance of the heat insulating material 11 cannot be reduced (described later). . The heat insulating material 11 is an elastic body having a high continuous porosity, has a heat insulating function, and may be any material as long as it can withstand the temperature of the heat control object 4. As an example of the material of the heat insulating material 11, a resin foam, a nonwoven fabric, glass wool, etc. are mentioned. An example of the resin foam is a soft polyurethane resin foam.

  The porosity of the heat insulating material 11 is different depending on the material of the heat insulating material 11 and may have a desired heat insulating effect and can compress the heat insulating material 11 (described later). As an example, when a soft polyurethane resin is used as the heat insulating material 11 according to the present embodiment, the porosity is preferably 70 to 99%, and more preferably 80 to 98%. A porosity of less than 70% is not preferable because sufficient heat insulation cannot be obtained. If the porosity exceeds 99%, the moldability of the heat insulating material is lowered and it becomes impossible to mold, which is not preferable. Further, the continuous porosity is preferably 70% or more, and more preferably 80% or more. When the continuous porosity is less than 70%, it is not preferable because air is difficult to escape during compression.

Below, the manufacturing method of the heat insulating material 11 using a soft polyurethane resin foam as an example of the manufacturing method of the heat insulating material 11 is mentioned. The manufacturing method includes the following steps.
(1) Mixing material adjustment step of measuring and mixing the raw materials of the flexible polyurethane resin foam to prepare the mixed material (2) The mixed material prepared in the mixed material preparation step is injected into a mold or the like and foamed and cured Foam curing process (3) to form to the desired dimensions

  The raw material of the flexible polyurethane resin foam is mainly composed of an isocyanate component and an active hydrogen group-containing compound.

  As an isocyanate component, a well-known isocyanate compound can be suitably selected in the field of a flexible polyurethane resin. In particular, the use of a diisocyanate compound and a derivative thereof, particularly an isocyanate prepolymer, is preferable because the physical properties of the obtained flexible polyurethane resin foam are excellent.

  The active hydrogen group-containing compound is a compound having an active hydrogen group that reacts with an isocyanate group, and examples thereof include a polyol component, a polyamine component, and a chain extender. These can be appropriately selected from known compounds in the field of flexible polyurethane. Further, the ratio of the isocyanate component and the active hydrogen group-containing compound can be variously changed depending on the molecular weight of each, the desired physical properties of the heat insulating material 11, and the like.

  As the foaming agent, known foaming agents can be used, and water, methylene chloride and the like are exemplified, and it is particularly preferable to use water or a foaming agent using water and methylene chloride in combination.

  In addition, you may add stabilizers, such as antioxidant, a lubricant, a pigment, a filler, an antistatic agent, and another additive as needed.

  In addition, as a manufacturing method of a flexible polyurethane resin foam, the prepolymer method and the one-shot method are known, but any method can be used in this embodiment.

  For reference, Table 1 shows the thermal resistance and the like (Experimental Example 1) during non-compression and compression of a flexible polyurethane resin foam having a high continuous porosity.

(Experimental example 1)
Based on the following raw materials and blending, a flexible polyurethane resin foam having a high continuous porosity was prepared by a conventional method.
<Raw materials and blending>
1) Polyether polyol compound, Actol LR-00 (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 100 parts by weight 2) Crosslinking agent / glycerin (manufactured by Nacalai Tesque): 2 parts by weight 3) Foaming agent / water: 2 parts by weight 4) Catalyst / Dabco33LV (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation): 0.4 parts by weight T-9 (manufactured by Toei Chemical Co., Ltd.): 0.1 parts by weight 5) Foam stabilizer / B-8017 (manufactured by Goldschmidt): 1 part by weight 6) Isocyanate component / Cosmonate T-80 [TDI-80] (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 29.2 parts by weight

<Evaluation method>
1) Density A sample having a length of 100 mm, a width of 100 mm, and a thickness of 50 mm was cut out from each of the above flexible polyurethane resin foams, and the weight was measured and calculated.
2) Thermal conductivity A thermal conductivity measuring device AUTO-Λ HC-074 (manufactured by Eihiro Seiki Co., Ltd.) was used and measured according to JIS A 9511. In addition, what compressed the foam sample with the load of 1600 N was made into the foam sample at the time of a load.
3) Continuous porosity The continuous porosity was measured in accordance with the ASTM-2856-94-C method by cutting a foam sample into a shape of 20 mm long × 20 mm wide × 30 mm high. As a measuring instrument, an air comparison type hydrometer 930 type (manufactured by Beckman Co., Ltd.) was used. The continuous porosity was calculated by the following formula.
Continuous porosity (%) = [(V−V1) / V] × 100
V: Apparent volume calculated from sample size (cm ³ )
V1: Sample volume (cm ³ ) measured using an air-comparing hydrometer
4) Rate of increase in thermal conductivity The rate of increase in thermal conductivity was determined by the following equation.
Thermal conductivity increase rate (%) = thermal conductivity during compression / thermal conductivity during non-compression × 100
5) Thermal resistance Thermal resistance (K / W) is a value obtained by dividing the reciprocal (mK / W) of thermal conductivity (W / mK) by the thickness (m) of the sample.
6) Thermal resistance change rate The thermal resistance change rate was determined by the following equation.
Thermal resistance change rate (%) = thermal resistance during non-compression / thermal resistance during compression × 100

  Table 1 shows the evaluation results for each of the flexible polyurethane resin foams.

  From the results shown in Table 1, the flexible polyurethane resin foam of Experimental Example 1 having a high continuous porosity has a high rate of change in thermal resistance when the air is easily removed from the non-compressed state.

  The heat insulating material thickness changing means 12 according to the present embodiment is a means for adjusting the thickness of the heat insulating material 11 by compressing the heat insulating material 11, releasing the compression, or extending the heat insulating material 11 in the thickness direction. The heat insulating material thickness changing means 12 can use a publicly known general method as long as the thickness can be adjusted by compressing the heat insulating material 11 or the like. An example is a mechanical or hydraulic press.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the heat insulating material 11 is compressed by the heat insulating material thickness changing unit 12 and the thickness is adjusted in the heat control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. In the state where the heat insulating material 11 is not compressed as shown in FIG. 1, the heat insulating material 11 has a heat insulating effect due to the internal gap, but as shown in FIG. 2, the heat insulating material 11 is compressed by the heat insulating material thickness changing means 12 When the voids in the heat insulating material 11 are crushed, the thermal resistance decreases. As described above, since the heat insulating material 11 is an elastic body having a high continuous porosity, the rate of change in thermal resistance when the non-compressed state is changed to the compressed state is high. Thereby, the thermal resistance of the heat insulating material 11 can be adjusted.

  In 1st Embodiment, the heat insulating material thickness change means 12 may raise the temperature of the heat control target object 4 exceeding the upper limit of the temperature range which can fully exhibit the performance of the heat control target object 4. When anticipated, the heat insulating material 11 is compressed, the thermal resistance of the heat insulating material 11 is reduced, and the heat insulating function of the heat insulating material 11 is suppressed. On the other hand, when the temperature of the heat control object 4 is not expected to rise, the heat insulating material thickness changing means 12 improves the thermal resistance of the heat insulating material 11 by releasing the compression of the heat insulating material 11, and the heat insulating material. 11 heat-insulating function is exhibited.

  The above-mentioned “when the temperature of the thermal control object 4 is expected to rise beyond the upper limit of the temperature range in which the performance of the thermal control object 4 can be sufficiently exerted” is, for example, the thermal control object A case where the object 4 is a rechargeable battery mounted on a car and the engine of the car is operated. The above-mentioned “when the temperature of the heat control object 4 is not expected to increase” is, for example, a rechargeable battery in which the heat control object 4 is mounted on an automobile. One example is when the engine is stopped.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the thermal control device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Note that the description of the same configuration as in the first embodiment is omitted.

  The heat insulating material 13 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is an elastic body similarly to the heat insulating material 11 which concerns on 1st Embodiment, Comprising: It has the continuous space | gap. The heat insulating material 13 according to the second embodiment contains a heat conductive filler 15.

  1-500 micrometers is preferable and, as for the average particle diameter of the heat conductive filler 15 used by this embodiment, 5-100 micrometers is more preferable. When the average particle size is less than 1 μm, the viscosity of the urethane stock solution increases when dispersed, which is not preferable. On the other hand, if the average particle diameter exceeds 500 μm, foaming inhibition occurs, which is not preferable. In the present specification, the “average particle diameter” is a median diameter (particle diameter when the cumulative amount is 50% in the cumulative distribution curve) of the cumulative distribution (cumulative distribution). It is measured by a light scattering method, a method using a dielectrophoresis phenomenon and diffracted light. Moreover, water, alcohol, acetone, etc. can be used as a solvent at the time of measuring an average particle diameter.

  The aspect ratio of the thermally conductive filler 15 used in the present embodiment is preferably 2 to 1000, and more preferably 2 to 100. If the aspect ratio is less than 2, it is difficult to form a heat transfer path when the heat insulating material 13 is compressed. Therefore, the rate of change in thermal resistance when the non-compressed state is changed to the compressed state is low, which is not preferable. On the other hand, if the aspect ratio exceeds 1000, foaming failure occurs, and the moldability of the heat insulating material is remarkably deteriorated, which is not preferable. The “aspect ratio” of the heat conductive filler 15 refers to the ratio of the average major axis to the average minor axis (average major axis / average minor axis) of the thermal conductive filler. The average minor axis means the length of the shorter side of the thermally conductive filler, and the average major axis means the length of the longer side of the thermally conductive filler. The average minor axis and the average major axis are measured, for example, by directly observing the thermally conductive filler with a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Fifty thermal conductive fillers 15 were sampled indiscriminately, the average minor axis and the average major axis were counted individually, and the average values were taken as the average minor axis and the average major axis.

  As a material of the heat conductive filler 15 used in the present embodiment, any heat conductive filler having an average particle diameter and an aspect ratio in the above ranges can be used without any particular limitation. Examples include boron nitride, aluminum nitride, alumina, carbon fiber, magnesium oxide, silica, zinc oxide, and carbonyl iron powder. Among these, boron nitride having the above aspect ratio has a feature that its thermal conductivity is greatly different in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and the change in thermal conductivity when oriented in the compression direction in the heat insulating material 13. This is preferable because the rate becomes higher.

  The blending ratio of the heat conductive filler 15 is preferably 25% by volume or less of the composition of the heat insulating material 13, and more preferably 20% by volume or less.

  When the compounding quantity of the heat conductive filler 15 is more than the said range, the moldability of the heat insulating material 13 may be impaired. For example, when the material of the heat insulating material 13 is a soft polyurethane resin foam, a foaming failure may occur during molding. In this case, a foam cannot be created and a heat insulating material cannot be manufactured.

  The blending ratio of the heat conductive filler 15 is preferably 3% by volume or more of the composition of the heat insulating material 13, and more preferably 5% by volume or more. When the blending amount of the heat conductive filler 15 is less than the above range, even if the heat insulating material 13 is compressed, the heat conductive filler 15 is difficult to contact and a heat transfer path is difficult to be secured. The effect is low.

  In the present embodiment, one kind of heat conductive filler may be used alone, or two or more kinds having different average particle diameters, aspect ratios, and materials may be used in combination.

Below, the manufacturing method of the heat insulating material 13 using a soft polyurethane resin foam and a heat conductive filler as an example of the manufacturing method of the heat insulating material 13 is demonstrated. The manufacturing method includes the following steps.
(1) A mixed material adjusting step for measuring and mixing a soft polyurethane resin raw material and a heat conductive filler to prepare a mixed material. (2) Injecting the mixed material prepared in the mixed material preparing step into a mold or the like. Foaming and curing process for foaming and curing (3) molding process for molding to desired dimensions

  The soft polyurethane resin raw material used in the present embodiment is the same as the soft polyurethane resin raw material used in the method for producing the flexible polyurethane resin foam used in the first embodiment. The same applies to foaming agents and additives.

  Since the soft polyurethane resin foam according to the present embodiment has continuous voids and includes the heat conductive filler 15, when the soft polyurethane resin foam is compressed, the heat conductive fillers 15 come into contact with each other. Since the heat transfer path is secured, the thermal resistance is greatly reduced.

  In the method for producing a flexible polyurethane resin foam according to the present embodiment, it is also preferable that the thermal conductive filler 15 is oriented and the flexible polyurethane resin raw material is cured in the foam curing step. As described above, the heat conductive filler 15 having a high aspect ratio has a higher thermal conductivity in the major axis direction than in the minor axis direction. When the heat insulating material 13 including the heat conductive filler 15 is compressed, the heat conductive fillers 15 come into contact with each other, and heat is transmitted through the contacted part. Accordingly, the orientation direction of the heat conductive filler (that is, the major axis direction of the heat conductive filler) is substantially parallel to the compression direction of the heat insulating material 13 (that is, the direction perpendicular to the heat control object 4). Thus, the thermal conductivity of the heat insulating material 13 at the time of compression can be further improved by providing the heat insulating material 13 around the thermal control object 4.

  An example of a method for orienting the thermal conductive filler 15 in the foam curing step is a method for orienting using an electric field. That is, the heat conductive filler 15 can be oriented by curing the soft polyurethane resin material containing the heat conductive filler 15 in an electric field.

  As a reference, Table 2 shows the thermal resistance and the like (Experimental Examples 2 to 6) during non-compression and compression of a flexible polyurethane resin foam containing the thermally conductive filler 15 having a preferred aspect ratio in the present embodiment.

(Experimental example 2)
Based on the following raw materials and blending, a flexible polyurethane resin foam having a high continuous porosity was prepared by a conventional method. In addition, the compounding quantity of the heat conductive filler was prescribed | regulated by the volume% in the volume of the composition of a flexible polyurethane resin foam.
<Raw materials and blending>
1) Polyether polyol compound, Actol LR-00 (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 100 parts by weight 2) Crosslinking agent / glycerin (manufactured by Nacalai Tesque): 2 parts by weight 3) Foaming agent / water: 2 parts by weight 4) Catalyst / Dabco33LV (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation): 0.4 parts by weight T-9 (manufactured by Toei Chemical Co., Ltd.): 0.1 parts by weight 5) Foam stabilizer / B-8017 (manufactured by Goldschmidt): 1 part by weight 6) Isocyanate component / Cosmonate T-80 [TDI-80] (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 29.2 parts by weight 7) Thermally conductive filler / boron nitride BN (Dencaboron nitride-GP: average particle size D ₅₀₎ 8.0, aspect ratio 8.7): 32.2 parts by weight (10% by volume)

(Experimental example 3)
Based on the following raw materials and blending, a flexible polyurethane resin foam having a high continuous porosity was prepared by a conventional method.
<Raw materials and blending>
1) Polyether polyol compound, Actol LR-00 (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 100 parts by weight 2) Crosslinking agent / glycerin (manufactured by Nacalai Tesque): 2 parts by weight 3) Foaming agent / water: 2 parts by weight 4) Catalyst / Dabco33LV (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation): 0.4 parts by weight T-9 (manufactured by Toei Chemical Co., Ltd.): 0.1 parts by weight 5) Foam stabilizer / B-8017 (manufactured by Goldschmidt): 1 part by weight 6) Isocyanate component / Cosmonate T-80 [TDI-80] (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 29.2 parts by weight 7) Thermally conductive filler / boron nitride BN (Dencaboron nitride-GP): 51.1 weight Parts (15% by volume)

(Experimental example 4)
A flexible polyurethane resin foam having a high continuous porosity was prepared by a conventional method based on the raw materials and blends in Experimental Example 2 above. In Experimental Example 4, in the foam curing step, the heat conductive filler was oriented by an electric field, and the soft polyurethane resin raw material was foamed and cured.

(Experimental example 5)
Based on the raw materials and blends of Experimental Example 3, a flexible polyurethane resin foam having a high continuous porosity was prepared by a conventional method. In Experimental Example 5, in the foam curing step, the thermally conductive filler was oriented by an electric field, and the soft polyurethane resin raw material was foamed and cured.

(Experimental example 6)
Based on the following raw materials and blending, a flexible polyurethane resin foam having a high continuous porosity was prepared by a conventional method.
<Raw materials and blending>
1) Polyether polyol compound, Actol LR-00 (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 100 parts by weight 2) Crosslinking agent / glycerin (manufactured by Nacalai Tesque): 2 parts by weight 3) Foaming agent / water: 2 parts by weight 4) Catalyst / Dabco33LV (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation): 0.4 parts by weight T-9 (manufactured by Toei Chemical Co., Ltd.): 0.1 parts by weight 5) Foam stabilizer / B-8017 (manufactured by Goldschmidt): 1 part by weight 6) Isocyanate component / Cosmonate T-80 [TDI-80] (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals): 29.2 parts by weight 7) Thermally conductive filler / boron nitride BN (Dencaboron nitride-GP): 124.1 weight Parts (30% by volume)

<Evaluation method>
The same method as described in the first embodiment was performed. In the evaluation, when compressing the flexible polyurethane resin foam, the compression direction was made substantially parallel to the orientation direction of the heat conductive filler.

  Table 2 shows the evaluation results for each of the above flexible polyurethane resin foams. In Experimental Example 6, since a large amount of boron nitride was added and a foaming failure of the soft polyurethane resin occurred, a soft polyurethane resin foam could not be prepared.

  From the results shown in Table 2, the flexible polyurethane resin foams according to Experimental Examples 2 to 5 contain the heat conductive filler having a preferred aspect ratio in the present embodiment, and the heat conductive fillers come into contact with each other during compression to transfer heat. Since the path is easily secured, the rate of change in thermal resistance when the non-compressed state is changed to the compressed state is high.

  In addition, the manufacturing method of the heat insulating material 13 at the time of using a flexible polyurethane resin foam as a material of the heat insulating material 13 was described above. However, as another embodiment, a non-woven fabric is used as the material of the heat insulating material 13. When using a nonwoven fabric, as an example of a method for orienting the heat conductive filler, the heat insulating material 13 having a desired thickness is manufactured by laminating the nonwoven fabric provided with the heat conductive filler oriented on the surface. Is mentioned.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the heat insulating material 13 is compressed by the heat insulating material thickness changing unit 12 and the thickness is adjusted in the heat control apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment. Since the heat insulating material 13 according to this embodiment has continuous voids and includes the heat conductive filler 15, the heat conductive fillers 15 come into contact with each other when the soft polyurethane resin foam is compressed, and the heat transfer path Therefore, the thermal resistance is greatly reduced.

(Third embodiment)
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the thermal control device 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Note that the description of the same configuration as in the other embodiments is omitted.

  The thermal control device 3 according to the third embodiment includes a temperature measurement unit 16. The temperature measuring means 16 measures the temperature Tp of the thermal control object 4. As long as the temperature measurement means 16 is a means which can measure the temperature of the thermal control target object 4, it can use any well-known general method. When the temperature Tp measured by the temperature measuring means 16 exceeds a predetermined threshold Th, the heat insulating material thickness changing means 12 compresses the heat insulating material 11. The threshold value Th is, for example, an arbitrary value indicating the upper limit of the temperature range in which the performance of the thermal control object 4 can be sufficiently exerted. Thereby, when the temperature of the heat control object 4 is high, as shown in FIG. 6, the heat insulating material 11 is compressed, the heat resistance of the heat insulating material 11 is lowered, and the heat of the heat control object 4 is released. The temperature can be lowered. On the other hand, for example, when the temperature of the heat control object 4 is equal to or lower than the threshold value Th, the compression of the heat insulating material 11 is released, and the heat resistance of the heat insulating material 11 is increased to increase the heat insulating function. The temperature can be prevented from decreasing.

  In the third embodiment, when the temperature Tp of the thermal control object 4 measured by the temperature measuring unit 16 exceeds the threshold value Th, the heat insulating material thickness changing unit 12 compresses the heat insulating material 11. , Switched insulation function. However, in another embodiment, data indicating the correlation between the temperature of the thermal control object 4 and the preferable thickness of the heat insulating material 11 at the temperature is stored, and measured at an arbitrary interval (for example, 1 minute). The thickness of the heat insulating material 11 may be changed as appropriate according to the temperature of the thermal control object 4 that has been made.

  For convenience of explanation, the heat insulating material 11 according to the first embodiment is used as the heat insulating material used in the heat control apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment. However, you may use the heat insulating material 13 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment instead of the heat insulating material 11 which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail above, the above description is merely an example of the present invention in all respects and is not intended to limit the scope thereof. Various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  The thermal control device and the thermal control method according to the present invention can be suitably used for an automotive rechargeable battery that adjusts the temperature of the rechargeable battery mounted on the automobile.

1, 2, 3 Thermal control device 11, 13 Thermal insulation material 12 Thermal insulation material thickness changing means 15 Thermal conductive filler 16 Temperature measurement means 4 Thermal control object

Claims (8)

A heat insulating material provided around the thermal control object and having a continuous gap;
A heat control apparatus comprising: heat insulating material thickness changing means for changing the thickness of the heat insulating material in order to change the thermal resistance of the heat insulating material.   The thermal control device according to claim 1, wherein the heat insulating material is a resin foam.   The thermal control device according to claim 2, wherein the resin foam includes a soft polyurethane resin.   The said heat insulating material contains a heat conductive filler, The heat control apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The thermal control device according to claim 4, wherein the thermally conductive filler includes boron nitride.   The thermal control device according to claim 4, wherein the thermally conductive filler is oriented substantially perpendicular to the thermal control object. The thermal control device has temperature acquisition means for acquiring the temperature of the thermal control object,
The said heat insulating material thickness change means changes the thickness of the said heat insulating material based on the temperature of the said heat control target acquired by the said temperature acquisition means, The any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The thermal control device described.   A thermal control method for controlling the heat of the thermal control object by changing the thickness of the thermal insulation material provided around the thermal control object and having a continuous gap and changing the thermal resistance of the thermal insulation material.

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