JP3266930B2 - Electric vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric vehicle air conditioner mounted on an electric vehicle running by a motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an air conditioner for a vehicle, a low temperature state is created by utilizing latent heat at the time of evaporation of a refrigerant. As a refrigeration cycle that creates this low temperature state,
A vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which a refrigerant gas is compressed by a compressor is used.
No. 1020.

As shown in FIG. 6, the air conditioner 70 includes a main refrigerant circuit 81 from a compressor 72 through a condenser 74, a receiver tank 76, and an expansion valve 78 to an evaporator 80. Suction and compress with condenser 7
4 In the air conditioner 70, a sub-refrigerant circuit 83 branched from a refrigerant circuit between the compressor 72 and the condenser 74 via a switching valve 82
The heating condenser 84 provided in the evaporator 80
When the refrigerant circuit is switched from the main refrigerant circuit 81 to the sub refrigerant circuit 83, the air dehumidified by the evaporator 80 is heated by the heating condenser 84, and It is supposed to be air.

[0004]

However, when such a vehicle air conditioner 70 is installed in an electric vehicle, the power consumption for driving the compressor 72 is increased and the battery is consumed quickly. is there.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner for an electric vehicle which can reduce power consumption for cooling and heating and can slow down battery consumption.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner for an electric vehicle, comprising: a heat storage tank having a condenser forming a part of a refrigeration cycle; and an evaporator forming a part of the refrigeration cycle. Equipped with a regenerator, a compressor that forms part of a refrigeration cycle and is driven by electric power from the outside, and an indoor heat exchanger that uses a heat medium filled in the regenerator and the regenerator as a heat source. It is characterized by having.

[0007]

In the air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the heat storage in the heat storage tank and the cold storage in the cool storage tank are performed, the time period during which the electric vehicle is not used, for example, at night,
The compressor is driven by electric power from the outside, the heat generated by the condenser of the refrigeration cycle is stored in the heat storage tank, and the cold generated by the evaporator is stored in the cold storage tank.

[0008] In addition, when heating is performed while using an electric vehicle, a warm heat medium stored in a heat storage tank,
For example, brine is flowed to an indoor heat exchanger,
Supply warm air to the room. On the other hand, when performing cooling, the cold brine stored in the cold storage tank is flowed to the indoor heat exchanger, thereby supplying cool air to the room.

Therefore, when using an electric vehicle,
Cooling and heating can be performed without driving the compressor. Therefore, power consumption for cooling and heating can be reduced, and battery consumption can be reduced.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of an air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 5, in an electric vehicle 10, a motor 11 is used instead of an engine. The motor 11 is mounted on the front of the vehicle body and is driven by a battery (not shown). Further, an inverter 12 is connected to the motor 11 so that the rotation speed of the motor 11 is changed by frequency control.

A heat storage tank 18 and a cold storage tank 20, which constitute a part of the electric vehicle air conditioner 16, are mounted on the rear part of the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 1, the heat storage tank 18 is connected to the motor 11 and the inverter 12 by a pipe 20, and a brine 22 as a heat medium filled in the heat storage tank 18 is circulated by a pump 24. It is supposed to be.

Therefore, the brine 2 is
By circulating the heat, the exhaust heat of the motor 11 and the inverter 12 can be stored in the brine 22 in the heat storage tank 18. A heater 19 is provided on the outer periphery of the heat storage tank 18.
Is heated by the external power supply 21 so that the brine 22 in the heat storage tank 18 can be warmed.

As shown in FIG. 5, a panel heater 26 for heating is disposed on the side of the passenger compartment 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, this panel heater 2
6 is connected to the heat storage tank 18 by a pipe 28, and the brine 22 filled in the heat storage tank 18 is circulated by a pump 30.

As shown in FIG. 5, an indoor heat exchanger 32 is provided at the front of the passenger compartment 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, this indoor heat exchanger 3
2 is connected to the heat storage tank 18 by a pipe 36 provided with a check valve 34, and the brine 22 filled in the heat storage tank 18 is circulated by a pump 38. The indoor heat exchanger 32 is connected to the cold storage tank 20 by a pipe 42 provided with a check valve 40.
Brine 44 as heat medium filled in regenerator 20
Is circulated by the pump 38.

The heat storage tank 18 and the cold storage tank 20 are each formed in a box shape, and a layer of a heat storage material having a high melting point, for example, a barium hydroxide layer 46 is provided on the outer periphery of the heat storage tank 18. A layer of a heat storage material having a low melting point, for example, a water layer 47 is provided on the outer periphery of the regenerator 20. A condenser 48 constituting a refrigeration cycle is disposed in the heat storage tank 18, and an evaporator 50 constituting a refrigeration cycle is disposed in the regenerator 20. The condenser 48 and the evaporator 50 are connected to a compressor 56 via a pipe 54 with an expansion valve 52 interposed therebetween, and constitute a refrigeration cycle.
The compressor 56 is driven by electric power from outside.

As shown in FIG. 5, an opening 62 communicating with the duct 58 and the duct 60 is provided at the rear of the cabin 13.
64 are formed. These openings 62, 64 are
The ducts 58 and 60 are openable and closable by the switching valves 66 and 68, respectively, and communicate with the outside of the vehicle body. The heat storage tank 18 is provided in the duct 58, and the cold storage tank 20 is provided in the duct 60.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the electric vehicle air conditioner 16 of the present embodiment, when performing heat storage in the heat storage tank 18 and cold storage in the cool storage tank 20, the time period during which the electric vehicle 10 is not used, for example, during the nighttime, For example, the compressor 56 is driven by electric power from the outside to circulate the refrigerant in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Thereby, the refrigerant gas is supplied to the compressor 56.
Then, it is sucked, compressed, turned into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas, and flows into the condenser 48. This gas is cooled by the brine 22 in the condenser 48, and loses latent heat of condensation to liquefy. At this time, the brine 22 is warmed and stored.

The refrigerant liquefied by the condenser 48 flows into the expansion valve 52. In the expansion valve 52, the high-pressure liquid refrigerant expands rapidly and becomes a low-temperature, low-pressure mist-like refrigerant and flows into the evaporator 50. In the evaporator 50, latent heat required for evaporation is taken from the surrounding brine 44, and the surrounding brine 44 is cooled and stored.
At the same time, the refrigerant is vaporized and sucked into the compressor 56 again. As described above, the refrigerant repeatedly circulates through the refrigeration cycle to perform heat storage and cold storage.

Further, by heating the heater 19 by the external power supply 21, the brine 22 in the heat storage tank 18 can be warmed.

When the electric vehicle 10 is used, the brine 22 stored in the heat storage tank 18 is supplied to the motor 1 by a pump 24 as shown by an arrow B in FIG.
1 and the inverter 12, and the exhaust heat of the motor 11 and the inverter 12 causes the brine 22 in the heat storage tank 18.
Can be warmed.

When the electric vehicle 10 is used for heating, the warm brine 22 stored in the heat storage tank 18 is supplied to the indoor heat exchanger by a pump 38 as shown by an arrow C in FIG. 32 so that the room 1
3 is supplied with warm air. Further, as shown by an arrow D in FIG. 3, the warm brine 22 stored in the heat storage tank 18 is flown by the pump 30 to the panel heater 26, thereby warming the room 13.

Further, an opening 64 provided at the rear of the vehicle compartment 13 is opened by a switching valve 68, and the opening 62 is opened.
Is closed by the switching valve 66. by this,
The warm air in the passenger compartment 13 flows into the duct 60 as shown by the arrow E in FIG. 3 and helps to prevent icing of the cold storage tank 20 arranged in the duct 60.

On the other hand, when performing cooling, the arrow F in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the cold brine 44 stored in the cold storage tank 20 is caused to flow to the indoor heat exchanger 32 by the pump 38, thereby supplying cool air to the room 13. Also,
The opening 62 provided at the rear of the vehicle compartment 13 is opened by the switching valve 66, and the opening 64 is closed by the switching valve 68. Thereby, the cold air in the passenger compartment 13 flows into the duct 58 as shown by the arrow G in FIG. 3, and helps to prevent the heat storage tank 18 arranged in the duct 58 from overheating.

Therefore, when the electric vehicle 10 is used, cooling and heating can be performed without driving the compressor 56. Therefore, power consumption for cooling and heating can be reduced, and battery consumption can be reduced. In addition, the exhaust heat of the motor 11 and the inverter 12 can be effectively used, and a cooling device for the motor 11 and the inverter 12 is not required.

When the motor 11 and the inverter 12 are overheated and the cooling is severe, the brine 22 of the heat storage tank 18 is replaced by an appropriate amount of the brine 22 of the heat storage tank 18 and the brine 44 of the cool storage tank 20. Lower the temperature,
It is good also as a structure which improves cooling performance.

[0030]

The air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to the present invention comprises a heat storage tank provided with a condenser constituting a part of a refrigeration cycle, a cool storage tank provided with an evaporator constituting a part of the refrigeration cycle, and a refrigeration cycle. Power consumption for cooling and heating, because it has a configuration that includes a compressor that is partially configured and driven by external electric power, and an indoor heat exchanger that uses a heat medium filled in the heat storage tank and the cold storage tank as a heat source , And has an excellent effect of reducing battery consumption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electric vehicle air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention during heat storage and cold storage.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a state in which the electric vehicle air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention is being heated.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention at the time of cooling.

FIG. 5 is a perspective perspective view showing an electric vehicle equipped with the electric vehicle air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention, which is viewed obliquely from the rear.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an air conditioner for an electric vehicle according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Electric Vehicle 11 Motor 12 Inverter 16 Electric Vehicle Air Conditioner 18 Heat Storage Tank 20 Cool Storage Tank 22 Brine (Heat Medium) 32 Indoor Heat Exchanger 44 Brine (Heat Medium) 48 Capacitor 50 Evaporator 56 Compressor

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-49-31137 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60H 1/00 B60H 1/22 B60H 1/32

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heat storage tank provided with a condenser constituting a part of a refrigeration cycle, a regenerator provided with an evaporator constituting a part of a refrigeration cycle, and an electric power supplied from outside which forms a part of a refrigeration cycle An air conditioner for an electric vehicle, comprising: a compressor driven by an air conditioner; and an indoor heat exchanger using a heat medium filled in the heat storage tank and the cold storage tank as a heat source.