JP4561303B2 - Battery cooling device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle battery cooling device, and more particularly to a vehicle battery cooling device that cools a battery mounted on a vehicle including an air conditioner that can switch between an inside air circulation mode and an outside air introduction mode.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle battery cooling device that cools a battery mounted on a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle cools the battery by blowing air sucked from the vehicle interior to the battery by a battery cooling fan. And the air volume of the battery cooling fan is changed according to the temperature of the battery so as to keep the temperature of the battery at about 40 ° C. from the viewpoint of life and safety (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-220799 A

  By the way, the air conditioner can switch between an inside air circulation mode in which air is sucked from the passenger compartment and blown out into the passenger compartment and an outside air introduction mode in which air is sucked out of the passenger compartment and blown out into the passenger compartment. And, for example, when switching from the inside air circulation mode to the outside air introduction mode, the air flow resistance from the air conditioner through the vehicle compartment to the passage through the battery decreases and the air volume blown to the battery due to the influence of the ram pressure Will increase. As the amount of air blown to the battery increases in this way, the noise value increases, and the passenger is uncomfortable.

  Further, even when the outside air introduction mode is switched to the inside air circulation mode, the noise change may cause discomfort to the occupant.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and suppresses discomfort to the passenger even when the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode of the air conditioner are switched. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular battery cooling device.

  The battery cooling device for a vehicle according to the present invention is an air conditioner capable of switching between an inside air circulation mode in which air is sucked from the vehicle interior and blown out into the vehicle interior and an outside air introduction mode in which air is sucked from outside the vehicle compartment and blown out into the vehicle interior. A vehicle battery cooling device that is applied to a vehicle and that includes a battery cooling blower that blows air sucked from the vehicle interior to the vehicle battery, and cools the vehicle battery. The inside air circulation mode and the outside air of the air conditioner An air volume changing means is provided for changing the air volume of the battery cooling blower when the introduction mode is switched.

  Thus, by changing the air volume by the battery cooling blower when the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode are switched, it is possible to suppress the change in the noise value that has occurred due to the mode switching. That is, it is possible to suppress the passenger from feeling uncomfortable due to the change in the noise value.

Further, the air amount changing means, when the air volume of the battery cooling blower is switched from the inside air circulation mode when the minimum state to the outside air introduction mode, so as to stop the driving of the battery cooling blower ing. When switching from the inside air circulation mode to the outside air introduction mode, when switching from the inside air circulation mode to the outside air introduction mode, as described above, the air is blown to the vehicle battery due to the reduction of the ventilation resistance or the influence of the ram pressure. The air volume increases. However, when the outside air introduction mode is switched to the inside air circulation mode, the air volume blown to the vehicle battery before and after the mode switching can be prevented from changing by reducing the air volume of the battery cooling fan. That is, since the air volume blown to the vehicle battery does not change, the noise value does not increase, and it is possible to reliably suppress discomfort to the occupant. However, when the air volume of the battery cooling blower is in the minimum state, the air volume of the battery cooling blower cannot be further reduced, and therefore the noise value increases due to mode switching.

  Therefore, when the air flow of the battery cooling blower is at the minimum state and the internal air circulation mode is switched to the outside air introduction mode, the increase of the noise value can be suppressed by stopping the driving of the battery cooling blower. it can. However, by stopping the driving of the battery cooling fan, the amount of air blown to the vehicle battery may be reduced, but in this case, the noise value acts in the direction of reducing. And although there exists a possibility of giving a passenger discomfort by the change of the noise value which arises when a noise value reduces, it is small compared with the discomfort given to a passenger by increasing a noise value by mode switching. Therefore, the discomfort given to the passenger can be suppressed by stopping the driving of the battery cooling fan as described above.

  In addition, the said effect is especially show | played when the said air blower for battery cooling is arrange | positioned at the vehicle rear seat side, and the said air conditioner with which the said vehicle is provided is an air conditioner arrange | positioned at the vehicle front seat side. Here, when the battery cooling fan is disposed on the rear seat side of the vehicle and the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode of the air conditioner disposed on the front seat side of the vehicle are switched, the above-described reduction in ventilation resistance is achieved. The amount of air blown to the battery changes greatly due to the influence of ram pressure. That is, in this case, by changing the air volume of the battery cooling fan as described above, it is possible to particularly suppress the change in the noise value caused by the mode switching.

  Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments.

(1) Schematic Configuration of Vehicle Battery Cooling Device and Air Conditioner The vehicle battery cooling device 1 in the present embodiment is applied to a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine and an electric motor as a driving source for traveling. The hybrid vehicle includes an air conditioner 2. Here, schematic configurations of the vehicle battery cooling device 1 and the air conditioner 2 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle battery cooling device 1 and an air conditioner 2 mounted on a vehicle.

(1.1) Air conditioner 2
As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 2 is installed in the vehicle front seat side space, and air-conditions a vehicle interior. The air conditioner 2 includes an air conditioner blower 21 that blows air into the passenger compartment, a condenser 22 that cools the air passing through, and a heater core (not shown) that heats the air passing through the cooling water of the internal combustion engine as a heat source. Etc.

  Then, on the most upstream side of the air flow of the air conditioner 2, that is, the foremost side of the vehicle of the air conditioner 2, the inside air circulation mode in which air is sucked from the passenger compartment and blown out again into the passenger compartment, and the outside air is sucked into the vehicle. An inside / outside air switching door 23 for switching between the outside air introduction modes to be blown into the room is arranged.

  Further, the air conditioner 2 includes an air conditioner electronic control device (hereinafter referred to as “A / C ECU”) 24, and the A / C ECU 24 adjusts the temperature of the conditioned air blown into the vehicle interior. In addition, the position control of the inside / outside air switching door 23 is performed.

(1.2) Vehicle battery cooling device 1
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle battery cooling device 1 is a device that cools a vehicle battery 3 that is mounted on the trunk room side of the vehicle rear seat side space and supplies electric power to a traveling electric motor. Here, the vehicle battery 3 is a chargeable / dischargeable secondary battery, stores the electric power generated by the generator driven by the internal combustion engine, and supplies the electric power to the traveling electric motor.

  The vehicle battery cooling device 1 includes a battery casing 11, a duct portion 12, a battery cooling blower (battery cooling blower) 13, a battery temperature sensor 14, and a battery cooling electronic control device (hereinafter referred to as “battery cooling”). ECU ”) 15).

  The battery casing 11 accommodates the vehicle battery 3 and constitutes a passage for air supplied to the vehicle battery 3. The air flow downstream side of the battery casing 11 communicates with the outside of the passenger compartment. The duct portion 12 communicates the air intake upstream of the battery casing 11 and an air intake port 16 opened at a rear package tray (not shown) located at the upper rear side of the vehicle interior. Car interior air is led to the vehicle battery 3 side, that is, the battery casing 11 side.

  The battery cooling blower 13 is disposed at a joint portion between the battery casing 11 and the duct portion 12. The battery cooling blower 13 sucks air from the air intake 16 into the battery casing 11 through the duct portion 12. Further, the battery cooling blower 13 blows vehicle interior air introduced into the battery casing 11 onto the vehicle battery 3. The battery temperature sensor 14 detects the temperature (hereinafter referred to as “battery temperature”) Tb of the vehicle battery 3.

  The battery cooling ECU (air volume changing means) 15 receives the battery temperature Tb from the battery temperature sensor 14 and the mode information indicating whether the internal air circulation mode or the external air introduction mode is input from the A / C ECU 24. Then, the battery cooling ECU 15 turns on / off the battery cooling blower 13 and the air volume of the battery cooling blower 13 so that the battery temperature Tb is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (for example, 40 ° C.) based on various input information. The level (hereinafter referred to as “blower level”) is controlled. The blower level can be changed in six stages from level 1 with the lowest air volume to level 6 with the highest air volume.

(2) Processing Operation of Battery Cooling ECU 15 Next, the processing operation of the battery cooling ECU 15 will be described. As described above, the battery cooling ECU 15 performs ON / OFF switching processing of the battery cooling blower 13 and switching processing of the blower level of the battery cooling blower 13.

(2.1) ON / OFF Switching Process of Battery Cooling Blower 13 First, the ON / OFF switching process of the battery cooling blower 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing ON / OFF switching processing of the battery cooling blower 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, it is determined whether or not the battery temperature Tb input from the battery temperature sensor 14 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value Tb_th (for example, 32 ° C.) (step S1). When the battery temperature Tb is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold Tb_th (step S1: Yes), it is subsequently determined whether or not the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (step S2). If the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (ON) (step S2: Yes), the driving of the battery cooling blower 13 is stopped (OFF) (step S3). Then, the process ends. On the other hand, when the battery temperature Tb is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value Tb_th and the battery cooling blower 13 is stopped (OFF) (step S2: No), the process is ended as it is.

  When the battery temperature Tb is higher than the predetermined threshold value Tb_th (step S1: No), it is subsequently determined whether or not the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (step S4). When the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (ON) (step S4: Yes), the process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, when the battery temperature Tb is larger than the predetermined threshold value Tb_th and the battery cooling blower 13 is stopped (OFF) (step S4: No), the battery cooling blower 13 is driven (ON) (step S5). Then, the process ends.

  That is, when the battery temperature Tb is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value Tb_th, the driving of the battery cooling blower 13 is stopped, and when the battery temperature Tb is higher than the predetermined threshold value Tb_th, the battery cooling blower 13 is driven.

(2.2) Blower Level Switching Process Based on Battery Temperature Tb Next, the blower level switching process will be described. Here, the blower level switching process includes a blower level switching process based on the battery temperature Tb and a blower level switching process based on the inside / outside air mode. First, the blower level switching process based on the battery temperature Tb will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a blower level switching process based on the battery temperature Tb.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, it is determined whether or not the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (ON) (step S11). When the battery cooling blower 13 is stopped (OFF) (step S11: No), the process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, when the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (ON) (step S11: Yes), the battery temperature Tb is within a predetermined temperature range at the current blower level (Tb_min (n) ≦ Tb ≦ Tb_max (n) )) Is determined (step S12). Here, the predetermined temperature range at the blower level is a temperature range set for each blower level. For example, the temperature range of level 1 with the lowest blower level is set to 32 ° C. to 35 ° C. or the like. Here, n in the conditional expression indicates the level value of the blower level, Tb_min (n) indicates the lowest temperature of level n, and Tb_max (n) indicates the highest temperature of level n.

  If the battery temperature Tb is within the predetermined temperature range of the current blower level (step S12: Yes), the process is terminated while maintaining the current blower level. On the other hand, when the battery temperature Tb is not within the predetermined temperature range of the current blower level (step S12: No), the battery temperature Tb is lower than the lowest temperature Tb_min (n) in the temperature range of the current blower level. Whether or not (step S13). When the battery temperature Tb is lower than the lowest temperature Tb_min (n) of the current blower level (step S13: Yes), the blower level is lowered by 1 level, and the process ends (step S14). That is, since the vehicle battery 3 is sufficiently cooled, a process for lowering the blower level is performed.

  On the other hand, when the battery temperature Tb is not smaller than the lowest temperature Tb_min (n) of the current blower level (step S13: No), that is, the highest temperature Tb_max (n) in the temperature range of the current blower level of the battery temperature Tb. If it is higher, it is further determined whether or not the blower level is the highest level 6 (step S15). If the blower level is not the highest level 6 (step S15: No), the blower level is increased by one level and the process is terminated (step S16). That is, since the cooling of the vehicle battery 3 is insufficient at the current blower level, processing for increasing the blower level is performed.

  On the other hand, when the blower level is the highest level 6 (step S15: Yes), since the blower level cannot be increased any more, processing for reducing the output of the vehicle battery 3 is performed (step S17).

(2.3) Blower Level Switching Process Based on Inside / Outside Air Mode Next, a blower level switching process based on the inside / outside air mode will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of air blown to the vehicle battery 3 with respect to the blower level in the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing blower level switching processing based on the inside / outside air mode. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a map 1 for changing the blower level when the inside air circulation mode is switched to the outside air introduction mode. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a map 2 for changing the blower level when the outside air introduction mode is switched to the inside air circulation mode.

  First, with reference to FIG. 4, the relationship between the amount of air blown to the vehicle battery 3 (hereinafter referred to as “cooling air amount”) with respect to the blower level in each of the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, in the inside air circulation mode, the cooling air volume increases as the blower level increases. Similarly, in the outside air introduction mode, the cooling air volume increases as the blower level increases. When the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode are compared, for example, the blower level 3 in the inside air circulation mode and the blower level 1 in the outside air introduction mode have the same amount of cooling air. For example, the blower level 6 in the inside air circulation mode and the blower level 4 in the outside air introduction mode have the same amount of cooling air. This is because the cooling air volume in the cooling air outside air introduction mode is larger than the cooling air volume in the inside air circulation mode even if the blower level is the same due to the influence of the ventilation resistance and the ram pressure.

  Next, the blower level switching process based on the inside / outside air mode will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is determined whether or not the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (ON) (step S21). When the battery cooling blower 13 is stopped (OFF) (step S21: No), the process is ended as it is. On the other hand, when the battery cooling blower 13 is being driven (ON) (step S21: Yes), whether any mode information of the inside air circulation mode or the outside air introduction mode has been input from the A / C ECU 24. It is determined whether or not (step S22). That is, it is determined whether or not mode switching has been performed by the A / C ECU 24.

  And when mode switching is not performed (step S22: No), a process is complete | finished as it is. On the other hand, when the mode is switched (step S22: Yes), it is further determined whether or not the mode is switched from the inside air circulation mode to the outside air introduction mode (step S23). When the inside air circulation mode is switched to the outside air introduction mode (step S23: Yes), a process for changing the blower level based on the map 1 is performed (step S24), and the process is terminated.

  Here, the map 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the map 1 for changing the blower level when the inside air circulation mode is switched to the outside air introduction mode is switched to the outside air introduction mode when the blower level in the inside air circulation mode is level 3 or higher. Even in such a case, the blower level is set so that the cooling air flow is the same. For example, when the blower level in the inside air circulation mode is level 4, the blower level in the outside air introduction mode is set to level 2 or the like. Further, when the blower level in the inside air circulation mode is equal to or lower than level 2, since there is no blower level in which the cooling air amount becomes the same level when switched to the outside air introduction mode, the lowest level 1 is set.

  On the other hand, in the flowchart of FIG. 5, when the outside air introduction mode is switched to the inside air circulation mode (step S23: No), a process of changing the blower level based on the map 2 is performed (step S25), and the process is terminated. .

  Here, the map 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the map 2 for changing the blower level when the outside air introduction mode is switched to the inside air circulation mode is switched to the inside air circulation mode when the blower level in the outside air introduction mode is level 4 or less. Even in such a case, the blower level is set so that the cooling air flow is the same. For example, when the blower level in the outside air introduction mode is level 3, the blower level in the inside air circulation mode is set to level 5 or the like. Further, when the blower level in the outside air introduction mode is level 5 or higher, there is no blower level in which the cooling air amount becomes the same level when the mode is switched to the inside air circulation mode.

  As described above, by changing the blower level at which the cooling air volume becomes approximately the same as the inside / outside air mode is switched, it is possible to suppress the noise change caused by the change in the cooling air volume. As a result, it is possible to prevent the passenger from feeling uncomfortable.

(3) Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, the map 1 for changing the blower level when the inside air circulation mode is switched to the outside air introduction mode is used when the blower level in the inside air circulation mode is level 2 or lower. Is at the lowest level 1. For example, when the blower level in the inside air circulation mode is equal to or lower than level 2, the driving of the battery cooling blower 13 may be stopped. Thereby, by stopping the drive of the battery cooling blower 13, an increase in the noise value can be reliably suppressed.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the mounting state to the vehicle battery cooling device 1 and the air conditioner 2 for vehicles. It is a flowchart which shows the ON / OFF switching process of the battery cooling blower 13. It is a flowchart which shows the blower level switching process based on battery temperature Tb. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the air volume which blows on the battery for vehicles 3 with respect to the blower level in inside air circulation mode and outside air introduction mode. It is a flowchart which shows the blower level switching process based on inside / outside air mode. It is a figure which shows the map 1 which changes a blower level when it switches from inside air circulation mode to outside air introduction mode. It is a figure which shows the map 2 which changes a blower level when it switches from outside air introduction mode to inside air circulation mode.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Battery cooling device for vehicles, 2: Air conditioner, 3: Battery for vehicles, 21: Blower for air conditioners, 22: Condenser, 23: Inside / outside air switching door, 24: ECU for A / C, 11: Battery casing , 12: Duct section, 13: Battery cooling blower (battery cooling fan), 14: Battery temperature sensor, 15: Battery cooling ECU (air flow changing means)

Claims (2)

Applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioner that can switch between an inside air circulation mode that sucks air from the passenger compartment and blows it into the passenger compartment and an outside air introduction mode that sucks air from outside the passenger compartment and blows it into the passenger compartment,
In a vehicle battery cooling device that includes a battery cooling blower that blows air sucked from a passenger compartment to a vehicle battery, and cools the vehicle battery.
An air volume changing means for changing the air volume of the battery cooling fan when the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode of the air conditioner are switched;
It said air amount changing means, when the air volume of the battery cooling blower is switched from the inside air circulation mode when the minimum state to the outside air introduction mode, and characterized that you stop the driving of the battery cooling blower Vehicle battery cooling device. The battery cooling fan is disposed on the vehicle rear seat side,
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner is an air conditioner arranged on a front seat side of the vehicle.

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