KR20150108498A - Heating apparatus for controlling temperature of urea water solution - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heating apparatus for an urea tank for vehicle comprising: a double pipe member which is arranged in an urea tank where an aqueous urea solution is stored, forms an empty space part inside a periphery surface and has an lower side of the space part which is plugged; and a heating unit which is arranged in the space part and is heated. The present invention, unlike an existing technique, stores materials generating heat and vaporizing inside a periphery surface of the double pipe by inserting a hot wire part, can prevent cooling of the aqueous urea solution at the freezing point or below through much heat generated by the hot wire part and a heat generating material and can be easily produced due to the simple structure.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a heating apparatus for a vehicle urea tank,

The present invention relates to a heating apparatus for a vehicle urea tank, and more particularly, to a heating apparatus for a vehicle urea tank, more particularly, to a device for heating a urea tank for a vehicle, The present invention relates to a heating device for a vehicle urea tank, which can prevent the aqueous solution of urea from being warmed to a freezing point or lower due to the generation of the urea water,

Vehicles equipped with a diesel engine inject a urea aqueous solution with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst to reduce the NOx contained in the exhaust gas.

The urea aqueous solution is stored inside the urea tank mounted on the vehicle. When the outside air temperature is lower than the freezing point of the urea aqueous solution, the urea solution is not sprayed to the front end of the SCR catalyst. In this case, the vehicle has a problem that the engine output is limited or the NOx discharged from the engine can not be reduced.

In order to prevent freezing of the urea aqueous solution stored in the urea tank, a method of forming the urea tank as a plastic material or circulating the cooling water discharged from the engine to the urea tank has been proposed.

However, the method of forming the urea tank as a plastic material has a problem that when the urea tank is exposed to a low temperature for a long time, the urea aqueous solution is frozen.

In addition, the method of circulating the cooling water discharged from the engine to the urea tank requires circulating the cooling water fully heated by the engine to the urea tank, so that the urea aqueous solution can not be melted by the cooling water at the initial stage of engine startup, There is a problem that the installation structure for circulating the cooling water is complicated and the installation cost is increased.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] The background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 0839949 (2008. 06. 20. Title of Invention: Dosing System).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a double tube, which comprises vaporizing a heat- The present invention provides a heating device for a vehicle urea tank which can prevent the urea aqueous solution from being heated to a freezing point due to the occurrence of multiple heat and has a simple structure to facilitate the manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a heating device for a vehicle urea tank which controls the temperature of the urea aqueous solution stored in the urea tank and quickly heats the aqueous solution of urea stored in the urea tank to a suitable temperature.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for melting a urea aqueous solution stored in a urea tank irrespective of whether an engine is heated at the beginning of the engine and to prevent the urea aqueous solution from being supplied to the SCR catalyst, And to provide a heating device for a urea tank.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a heating device for a vehicle urea tank that prevents freezing of the urea aqueous solution and enables the supply of the urea aqueous solution with the SCR catalyst, thereby suppressing an increase in NOx emissions.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a heating device for a vehicle urea tank, which does not need to supply cooling water heated by an engine to a urea tank, so that its installation structure is simple and installation cost can be reduced.

A heating device for a vehicle urea tank according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a double pipe member provided in a urea tank in which a urea aqueous solution is stored, an inner circumferential surface forming an empty space portion, And a heat generating portion provided in the space portion.

The heat generating portion includes a heat ray portion accommodated in the space portion, generating heat when power is supplied, and primarily raising the temperature of the double pipe member.

The heat generating portion includes a vaporizing heat generating material that is vaporized by the heat ray portion and secondarily heats up the double tube member by generating heat.

The double pipe member may have a water level sensor inserted therein and a mesh net member at an open lower side.

The mesh net member or the double tubular member may be provided with a buffer support member so as to be buffer-supported against the urea tank.

The urea tank may include a fixing member for fixing the position of the buffer support member.

The present invention can prevent the urea aqueous solution from being cooled to a freezing point or lower due to the generation of multiple heat due to the heat ray and the heating material by storing vaporized substances in the circumferential surface of the dual tube and storing heat- , And a simple structure.

The present invention can quickly heat a low temperature urea aqueous solution stored in a urea tank to a suitable temperature.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can prevent urea aqueous solution stored in the urea tank from being melted regardless of whether the engine is heated at the initial stage of engine startup, and to prevent the engine output of the vehicle from being lowered because the urea aqueous solution is not supplied to the SCR catalyst.

The present invention prevents the freezing of the urea aqueous solution and enables the supply of the aqueous urea solution with the SCR catalyst, thereby suppressing the increase in NOx emissions.

The present invention eliminates the need to supply the cooling water heated by the engine to the urea tank, so that the installation structure is simple and the installation cost can be reduced compared with the conventional case.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for controlling the temperature of aqueous urea solution according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of a urea tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an interior view of a urea tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a heating apparatus for a urea tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a top cross-sectional view of a heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a use state diagram of a heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the urea aqueous solution temperature control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a heating apparatus for a vehicle urea tank according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the thicknesses of the lines and the sizes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. Further, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the user, the intention or custom of the operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a urea tank according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a urea aqueous solution temperature control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a heating apparatus for a urea tank according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a plan sectional view of a heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. FIG. 3 is a view showing the state of use of the heating device according to the embodiment of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a heating apparatus for a vehicle urea tank according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a dual pipe member 120 and a heat generating unit 130.

2, the urea tank 20 stores a urea aqueous solution 22 therein and may be made of synthetic resin having a low thermal conductivity to prevent the heat of the urea aqueous solution 22 from being discharged to the outside . As described above, since the urea tank 20 is made of plastic, the urea aqueous solution 22 can be prevented from freezing at a temperature lower than a certain point. Further, the urea tank 20 may be further provided with a heat insulating material so that the heat insulating effect is further improved. As such a heat insulating material, any one of polyurethane, polystyrene, and hollow silica gel may be employed, and any one or more of these may be combined.

The engine ECU 510 controls the overall operation of the vehicle engine 520 such that when a key signal for starting the vehicle is inputted from a key box (not shown) or the like by a key operation of a passenger, Thereby operating the engine 520.

The generator 530 converts the output of the engine 520 into electrical energy, for example, a diesel vehicle capable of outputting a voltage of 24 V or more.

The temperature sensor 400 detects the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 stored in the urea tank 20 in the urea tank 20.

The heating device 100 is accommodated in the urea tank 20 and heats the urea aqueous solution 22 with the electric power applied from the generator 530.

2 to 6, the heating apparatus 100 includes a double pipe member 120 accommodated in the urea tank 20 and transmitting heat generated by the heat generating unit 130 to the urea aqueous solution 22, And a heating unit 130 installed in the dual pipe member 120 to generate heat to the dual pipe member 120.

2 and 3, one end of the double pipe member 120 is fixed to the sender module main body 110 of the urea tank 20 so that all or part of the double pipe member 120 is immersed in the urea aqueous solution 22. In this case, 130 to the urea aqueous solution 22 to heat the urea aqueous solution 22.

Referring to FIG. 4, the dual tubular member 120 includes a first tubular member 123 and a second tubular member 125 of different diameters. In this case, the diameter of the first tube member 123 is smaller than the diameter of the second tube member 125, and the first tube member 123 is disposed inside the first tube member 125 so as to be spaced apart from the second tube member 125 . Here, the first tube member 123 and the lower end of the second tube member 125 are blocked so as to be connected to each other. According to such an installation structure, a space portion 122 is formed between the outer surface of the first tube member 123 and the inner surface of the second tube member 125. The space portion 122 will be described later. Here, the center axis of the first tube member 123 and the center axis of the second tube member 125 may be the same or different from each other.

The first tube member 123 and the second tube member 125 may be formed of the same or different materials and made of a metal material having a relatively high heat transfer rate to the urea aqueous solution 22. [

For reference, in this embodiment, the first tube member 123 and the second tube member 125 are formed into a cylindrical shape. However, the first tube member 123 and the second tube member 125 may be formed in different sizes depending on the size and structure of the urea tank 20, the amount of the urea aqueous solution 22 stored in the urea tank 20, They can be manufactured in various shapes and sizes, and can be manufactured in different shapes as needed.

The space portion 122 is formed between the outer surface of the first tube member 123 and the inner surface of the second tube member 125. The space portion 122 has the heat generating portion 130, .

The lower end of the first tube member 123 and the second tube member 125 are connected to each other to be blocked and the upper end of the first tube member 123 and the second tube member 125 are installed in the sender module body 110, Lt; / RTI >

The heat generating unit 130 is disposed in the space 122 and generates heat by a power source supplied from the generator 530 and includes a heat ray unit 132 and a vaporization heat generating material 134.

The heat wire portion 132 is electrically connected to the generator 530 and is disposed in the space portion 122 via the sender module body 110. When power is supplied from the generator 530, .

The heat generated by the hot wire portion 132 is transferred to the double pipe member 120 through the space portion 122 and transferred to the urea aqueous solution 22 through the double pipe member 120, The temperature is increased.

Here, the heating wire 132 may be a heating coil or the like. In addition to the heating coil, various metal members that generate heat by the power supplied from the generator 530 may be included.

The vaporization exothermic material 134 is stored in the space portion 122. Particularly, the vaporization heat generating material 134 is in a liquid state at room temperature, and when heated by the heat ray portion 132, it is phase-changed into a gaseous state and generates heat. Therefore, the double pipe member 120 is heated by the heat transferred by the vaporization exothermic material 134, and this heat is transferred to the urea aqueous solution 22 through the double pipe member 120, whereby the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 .

For example, as the vaporization heat generating material 134, at least one of a liquid material having a low vaporization point and a mixed liquid material of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide may be employed.

The vaporization heat generating material 134 is in a liquid state at room temperature as described above, and a part of the heat conducting part 132 is disposed so as to be submerged in the vaporization heat generating material 134 as shown in FIG. 4, And may be formed to extend along the lower portion of the dual pipe member 120 as shown in FIG. 5 so as to be uniformly transferred to the vaporization exothermic material 134.

According to this structure, the heating apparatus 100 heats the urea aqueous solution 22 double.

That is, when power is supplied to the heat wire portion 132 to generate heat, the heat is transferred to the urea aqueous solution 22 through the space portion 122 and the double pipe member 120, .

In addition, when the vaporization heating material 134 is heated by the heat generated from the heating wire 132, the vaporization heating material 134 undergoes a phase change to a gaseous state due to the heat generated by the heating wire 132 in a liquid state And the heat is transferred to the urea aqueous solution 22 through the space portion 132 and the double pipe member 120 so that the urea aqueous solution 22 is secondarily heated.

Particularly, the heat ray portion 132 is arranged to be locked over the entire vaporization heat generating material 134 which is made of a flexible wire type and is liquid at room temperature. This is to raise the temperature of the liquid vaporizing exothermic material 134 to the vaporization point in a short time.

The water level sensor 30 is disposed inside the first pipe member 123 of the double pipe member 120 to sense the level of the urea aqueous solution 22. [ The water level sensor 30 includes a floater (not shown) that moves in the vertical direction in accordance with the level of the urea aqueous solution 22. The water level sensor 30 detects the level of the urea aqueous solution 22 based on the position of the floater by the buoyant force of the urea aqueous solution 22 Lt; / RTI >

For example, in the present embodiment, the water level sensor 30 is applied with the plotter method. However, the water level sensor 30 may also emit light into the urea aqueous solution 22 and sense the level of the urea aqueous solution 22 based on the received light amount An optical system may also be employed.

On the other hand, the urea discharge pipe 40 is arranged in the axial direction of the first pipe member 123 through the sensor module main body 110. The urea discharge pipe 40 sucks and discharges the urea aqueous solution 22 stored in the urea tank 20 as shown in FIG.

In this case, the urea aqueous solution 22 sucked through the urea discharge pipe 40 may contain foreign matter.

The mesh net member 200 filters the foreign matter of the urea aqueous solution 22 that is installed on the entire lower end of the double pipe member 120 or the lower end of the first pipe member 123 and is sucked into the urea discharge pipe 40.

The mesh net member 200 is formed with a recessed groove 210 and the urea discharge pipe 40 is inserted into the recessed recess 210 so that the urea discharge pipe 40 is fixed by the mesh net member 200 . In addition, the mesh net member 200 may be installed at the lower end of the urea discharge pipe 40.

On the other hand, the double pipe member 120 and the mesh net member 200 are separated from the bottom surface of the urea tank 20 so that the urea aqueous solution 22 can be sucked into the urea discharge pipe 40 smoothly.

In this case, the double pipe member 120 may be shaken or an impact may be applied to the double pipe member 120 due to running of the vehicle, impact, or the like, so that the connecting portion between the sender module main body 110 and the urea tank 20 may be damaged.

Thus, a buffer support member 300 for buffering and supporting the mesh net member 200 or the double pipe member 120 is provided. The buffer support member 300 absorbs and mitigates impact applied to the urea tank 20 or reduces the shaking of the double pipe member 120 in the up, down, left, and right directions to prevent damage to the double pipe member 120.

Here, as the buffer support member 300, a spring member may be employed to sufficiently support the double pipe member 120 in preparation for shock and vibration in various directions. In addition, the buffer support member 300 may be installed between the inner surface of the urea tank 20 and the outer surface of the double pipe member 120.

For example, FIG. 4 illustrates that the buffer support member 300 is installed in the urea tank 20. 4, the fixing member 310 is fixed to the bottom surface of the urea tank 20 to restrain the lower end of the buffer support member 300 and a spring member is employed as the buffer support member 300, (120), the shock applied to the double pipe member (120) through the restoring force is mitigated or the shake is reduced.

In addition, the urea tank 20 may have a fixing member 310 for fixing the position of the buffer support member 300. For the sake of convenience, the fixing member 310 serves to restrain the lower side of the buffer support member 300 while being fixed to the bottom surface of the urea tank 20.

The control unit 600 generally controls the urea aqueous solution temperature control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, when the passenger inputs a key signal for starting the engine 520 through the key box, the engine ECU 510 drives the engine 520. [ Thus, the generator 530 converts the output of the engine 520 into electrical energy. At this time, the controller 600 senses the temperature and the water level of the urea aqueous solution 22 through the temperature sensor 400 and the water level sensor 30, respectively. Thereafter, the controller 600 supplies the power of the generator 530 to the hot-wire part 132 in accordance with whether the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 is lower than a predetermined reference temperature and the level of the urea aqueous solution is higher than a predetermined reference level The low-temperature urea aqueous solution 22 is heated. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Here, the reference temperature is a temperature at which the urea aqueous solution 22 can be judged to be in a state in which the urea aqueous solution 22 is not sprayed due to reasons such as freezing, and the freezing point of the urea aqueous solution 22 is adopted .

The reference water level is a predetermined water level in the urea tank 20 to such an extent that not only the urea aqueous solution 22 is sufficiently sprayed but also the heat ray portion 132 is prevented from being excessively overheated. This reference water level can be set variously according to the capacity of the urea tank 20 or the like.

Hereinafter, the operation of the urea aqueous solution temperature control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the urea aqueous solution temperature control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the controller 600 determines whether it is in a starting-on state (S10).

When the passenger operates the key for starting the engine 520, the engine ECU 510 drives the engine 520 and inputs the start-up signal to the controller 600. [ Further, as the engine 520 is driven, the generator 530 converts the output of the engine 520 into electric energy.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S10 that the engine is in the starting ON state, the controller 600 senses the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 through the temperature sensor 400 (S20).

Next, the controller 600 compares the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 with the reference temperature to determine whether the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 is lower than a predetermined reference temperature (S30).

If it is determined in step S30 that the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 exceeds the reference temperature, the controller 600 returns to step S10 and repeats the above process.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S30 that the temperature of the urea aqueous solution 22 is below the reference temperature, the controller 600 senses the level of the urea aqueous solution 22 through the water level sensor 30 (S40).

In this case, the controller 600 compares the level of the urea aqueous solution 22 with the reference level to determine whether the level of the urea aqueous solution 22 is equal to or higher than the reference level (S50).

If the water level of the urea aqueous solution 22 is lower than the reference water level in step S50, the controller 600 ends the operation. If the water level of the urea aqueous solution 22 is higher than the reference water level, To the hot-wire portion 132 (S60).

When power is supplied to the hot wire portion 132, heat is generated in the hot wire portion 132 and the heat is transmitted to the urea aqueous solution 22 through the space portion 122 and the double pipe member 120, The urea aqueous solution 22 is primarily heated. Further, the heat generated from the heat ray portion 132 causes phase change of the vaporization heat generating substance 134 from the liquid state to the gaseous state, and the heat is transferred to the urea aqueous solution 22 through the double pipe member 120 , The urea aqueous solution 22 is secondarily heated.

Thus, in this embodiment, the urea aqueous solution 22 stored in the urea tank is quickly heated regardless of whether or not the engine 520 is heated at the start of the engine 520, and the urea aqueous solution 22 is supplied to the SCR catalyst It is possible to prevent the engine output of the vehicle from being lowered.

In addition, the present embodiment can prevent the urea aqueous solution 22 from freezing and supply the urea aqueous solution 22 with the SCR catalyst, thereby suppressing an increase in NOx emission.

In addition, since the present embodiment does not require supplying the cooling water heated by the engine 520 to the urea tank, the installation structure is simple and the installation cost can be reduced compared to the conventional case.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, I will understand. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims.

20: urea tank 22: urea aqueous solution
30: water level sensor 40: urea discharge pipe
100: Heating device 110: Sender module body
120: double pipe member 122:
123: first tube member 125: second tube member
130: heat generating part 132:
134: Vaporization material 200: Mesh net member
300: buffer support member 310: fixing member
400: temperature sensor 510: engine ECU
520: engine 530: generator
600:

Claims (6)

A double pipe member provided in a urea tank in which a urea aqueous solution is stored, an inside of the circumferential surface forms an empty space portion, and a lower side of the space portion is sealed; And
And a heating portion provided in the space portion to generate heat.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heat generating portion includes a heat ray portion accommodated in the space portion and generating heat upon power supply and primarily raising the temperature of the double pipe member.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the heat generating part includes a vaporizing heat generating material which is vaporized by the heat ray part and generates heat to secondarily raise the temperature of the double tube member.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the double pipe member includes a water level sensor shaft inserted therein and a mesh net member at an opened lower side thereof.
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the mesh net member or the double pipe member is provided with a buffer support member so as to be buffered against the urea tank.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the urea tank has a fixing member for fixing the position of the buffer support member.

Images