KR20210015458A - Itegrated control apparatus and method of heating and cooling air-conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and a method for controlling a cooling and heating integrated vehicle air conditioner. The device comprises: an electric compressor having a compression unit compressing a refrigerant, an electric motor unit transmitting driving force required for compressing the refrigerant to the compression unit, and an inverter unit for converting direct current power supplied through a battery to alternating current power to suppy the alternating current power to the electric motor unit; an electric heater having a heating unit receiving the power of the battery to generate heat and a switching unit having one or more switches switched according to an input switching control signal to supply the power of the battery to the heating unit; and an integrated control unit integrally controlling operation of the electric compressor and the electric heater.

Description

Air-conditioning integrated vehicle air conditioner control device and method {ITEGRATED CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD OF HEATING AND COOLING AIR-CONDITIONER FOR VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner capable of efficiently managing the temperature inside a vehicle by integrating and controlling an air conditioner for an electric vehicle.

Conventionally, control of an electric heater and an electric compressor for air conditioning is performed through a controller provided in each device, so that there is a difficulty in integrated control for air conditioning of a vehicle.

In addition, electric heaters used in general electric vehicles form a frame structure formed by combining an upper housing and a lower housing. As the PCB (PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD) board for controlling the operation of heating elements is mounted in the inner space of the lower housing, it is easily damaged because the PCB board for temperature control is provided in a position close to the heating element. And, there was a problem that it was not easy to repair or replace after damage.

In addition, an electric compressor used in a general electric vehicle includes a drive motor inside a housing and a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, and operates in a manner in which the drive motor is controlled by an inverter installed at one side of the electric compressor housing. Conventional electric compressors generate vibrations according to the rotation of the electric motor and compression operation of the compressor during its operation, and the controller is not only damaged by the vibration generated inside the compressor housing, but also the controller is located inside the electric compressor and is maintained. There was a problem that was difficult to manage.

The background technology of the present invention is disclosed in'electric compressor' of Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2019-0051936 (2019.5.15).

The present invention was invented to improve the above-described problem, and an object according to an aspect of the present invention is to improve the ease of maintenance and management of the controller by integrating the controller of the electric heater and the electric compressor from the outside of the device, and It is to provide an apparatus and method for controlling an integrated vehicle air conditioner for cooling and heating that can efficiently manage the temperature inside a vehicle by integrating the control performed in each of the electric compressors.

An integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner control apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a compression unit that compresses a refrigerant, an electric motor unit that transmits a driving force necessary for compressing the refrigerant to the compression unit, and DC power supplied from a battery is converted into AC power. An electric compressor including an inverter unit for supplying to the electric motor unit; An electric heater including a heating unit configured to generate heat by receiving power from the battery, and a switching unit including at least one switch that is switched according to an input switching control signal to supply power of the battery to the heating unit; And an integrated control unit for integrally controlling the operation of the electric compressor and the electric heater.

In the present invention, the integrated control unit calculates a limit value of power that can be allocated to the electric heater and the electric compressor through the vehicle speed and the engine speed, and a switch operable in the electric heater based on the calculated limit value of the electric power. It characterized in that calculating the upper limit of the number of and the limit number of rotations of the electric motor part of the electric compressor.

In the present invention, the integrated control unit controls the electric heater by operating the switching unit through a PWM control signal whose duty ratio is varied according to the input target temperature, but the number of operating switches is less than the upper limit of the calculated number of switches. It features.

In the present invention, the integrated control unit is characterized in that controlling the electric compressor by adjusting the number of rotations of the electric motor unit below the calculated limit rotation number.

In the present invention, the integrated control unit is characterized in that the first control circuit for controlling the electric compressor and the second control circuit for controlling the electric heater are connected outside the electric heater and the electric compressor to be integrated.

In the present invention, the integrated control unit compares the input target temperature with the current internal temperature of the vehicle, and selectively controls the electric compressor and the electric heater according to the comparison result.

A method for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention includes a compression unit that compresses a refrigerant, an electric motor unit that transmits a driving force required for compressing the refrigerant to the compression unit, and DC power supplied from a battery is converted into AC power. An electric compressor including an inverter unit for supplying to the electric motor unit; And a switching unit including a heating unit that receives power from the battery and generates heat, and at least one switch that is switched according to an input switching control signal to supply power of the battery to the heating unit. A method for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner, comprising: comparing, by an integrated control unit, an input target temperature and an internal temperature of a current vehicle; And selectively controlling the electric compressor and the electric heater according to a comparison result between the target temperature and the internal temperature, by the integrated control unit.

In the controlling step in the present invention, the integrated control unit calculates a limit value of power that can be allocated to the electric heater and the electric compressor through the vehicle speed and the engine speed, and based on the calculated limit value of the power, the It is characterized in that the upper limit of the number of switches operable in the electric heater and the limiting number of rotations of the electric motor part of the electric compressor are calculated.

In the present invention, in the controlling step, the electric heater is controlled by operating the switching unit through a PWM control signal whose duty ratio is varied according to an input target temperature, but the number of operated switches is equal to the calculated number of switches. It is characterized in that it is below the upper limit.

In the controlling step of the present invention, the integrated control unit controls the electric compressor by adjusting the number of rotations of the electric motor unit to be less than the calculated limit rotation number.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the present invention is capable of controlling an electric heater and an electric compressor through a single controller.

In addition, the present invention minimizes the influence on the controller by the operation of the electric heater and the electric compressor and improves maintenance and management ease by combining the controller provided inside the apparatus and installing it on the vehicle by combining the electric heater and the electric compressor outside.

In addition, the present invention provides a signal line connected to the controller compared to the case of performing control with a controller provided in each of the electric heater and the electric compressor by combining the controller provided inside the device and installing it on the vehicle. The volume of the electric heater and the electric compressor can be reduced by the volume occupied by the controller in the electric heater and the electric compressor.

In addition, by replacing the microcontroller unit (MCU) required by the electric heater and the electric compressor with one MCU through the present invention, it is possible to expect a reduction in overall product production cost.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an apparatus and method for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, thicknesses of lines or sizes of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of users or operators. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout the present specification.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an electric compressor 100, an electric heater 200 and an integrated control unit 300, and the electric compressor 100 The compression unit 110, the electric motor unit 120, and the inverter unit 130 may be included, and the electric heater 200 may include a heating unit 220 and a switching unit 210.

The electric heater 200 is provided for heating inside the vehicle, and is switched according to the switching control signal of the heating unit 220 and the integrated control unit 300 to generate heat by receiving power from the battery. It includes a switching unit 210 including one or more switches to supply power.

Here, each switch included in the switching unit 210 may be composed of an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), which is a high voltage switch element, and a number of IGBTs are applied according to the maximum output load by the limit of the allowable current consumption of the IGBT. .

The heating unit 220 may be configured as a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater. When the temperature of the PTC heater rises above an appropriate level, the resistance is changed to reduce the amount of current flowing through the electric heater 200 to maintain an appropriate temperature.

On the other hand, the electric compressor 100 is provided for cooling inside the vehicle, a compression unit 110 for compressing a refrigerant, an electric motor unit 120 for transmitting driving force required for refrigerant compression to the compression unit 110, and a battery It includes an inverter unit 130 for converting the DC power supplied through the AC power to supply to the electric motor unit 120.

In this case, the inverter unit 130 receives DC power from the battery and converts it into AC power suitable for driving the electric motor unit 120, and the electric motor unit 120 converts the AC power received from the inverter unit 130. Through the rotation of the motor, a driving force required for refrigerant compression is generated and transmitted to the compression unit 110.

The integrated control unit 300 integrally controls the operation of the electric compressor 100 and the electric heater 200, and specifically, can be allocated to the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 through the vehicle speed and engine rotation speed. A limit value of the current power is calculated, and an upper limit value of the number of switches operable in the electric heater 200 and a limit rotation speed of the electric motor unit 120 of the electric compressor 100 are calculated based on the calculated limit value of the electric power.

At this time, the integrated control unit 300 receives the vehicle speed and engine rotation speed respectively measured from the vehicle speed sensor and engine RPM sensor (not shown) mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle air conditioner based on the received vehicle speed and engine rotation speed. Calculate the limit of power that can be allocated. In this embodiment, the vehicle air conditioner is defined as a concept including an electric heater 200 and an electric compressor 100.

In general, the electric power provided to the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 applied to the electric vehicle, the rotational force of the traveling motor is converted into electric energy in the motor generator, and the electric energy converted in the motor generator is converted into chemical energy in the battery. It is created by being stored. Subsequently, the electric power charged in the battery is supplied to the electric heater 200 or the electric compressor 100 to perform temperature control. Therefore, when excessive power is supplied to the vehicle air conditioner when the vehicle speed and engine rotation speed are low, the integrated control unit 300 adversely affects the supply of power required for driving the vehicle or requires more engines to be driven to charge the battery. ) Calculates the power that can be allocated to the vehicle air conditioner by calculating the power limit in advance.

The integrated control unit 300 calculates the power consumed by the driving motor based on the vehicle speed and engine rotation speed, and then subtracts the calculated power consumption of the driving motor from the SOC (State Of Charge) of the current battery. It is possible to calculate the limit of the power that can be allocated to the air conditioner.

The integrated control unit 300 controls the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 to operate within the range of the calculated power limit. That is, the electric heater 200 is controlled by the integrated control unit 300 so that heat control is performed by operating a switch below the upper limit, and the electric compressor 100 is the limit rotation speed calculated by the electric motor unit 120 It is controlled by the integrated control unit 300 to rotate below.

When the control method of the electric heater 200 is described, the integrated control unit 300 operates the switching unit 210 through a pulse width modulation (PWM) control signal whose duty ratio is varied according to the input target temperature. 200), but the number of operating switches may be less than or equal to the upper limit of the number of switches.

In this case, the integrated control unit 300 controls on/off of the switch through PWM control, and also performs temperature control by adjusting the number of switches operating according to the target temperature. For example, when the target temperature exceeds the temperature range that can be reached through PWM control for one switch, the integrated control unit 300 expands the temperature range that can be adjusted by increasing the number of switches to be controlled. Temperature control by

At this time, the integrated control unit 300 controls the number of operating switches to be less than or equal to the upper limit of the number of switches calculated previously.

Next, the control method of the electric compressor 100 will be described. The integrated control unit 300 controls the electric compressor 100 by adjusting the number of rotations of the electric motor unit 120 to be less than the calculated limit rotation number. In this case, the integrated control unit 300 may control the electric compressor 100 by controlling the AC power input from the inverter unit 130 to the electric motor unit 120 to adjust the number of rotations of the electric motor unit 120. have.

The integrated control unit 300 includes a first control circuit 310 for controlling the electric compressor 100 and a second control circuit 320 for controlling the electric heater 200 outside the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100. The first and second control circuits 310 and 320 may be connected and integrated, and an insulation structure for preventing interference between the first and second control circuits 310 and 320 may be applied.

That is, the first and second control circuits 310 and 320 are connected outside the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 to be integrated and configured, so that the influence of the vehicle air conditioner on each control circuit 310 and 320 It is minimized, and the operation of the electric compressor 100 and the electric heater 200 can be integrated and controlled.

In addition, the first and second control circuits 310 and 320 are connected outside the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 to be integrated and configured, so that a controller provided in each of the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 Compared to the case of controlling the air conditioner with a furnace, the signal line connected to the controller can be reduced. In addition, by reducing the volume of the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 by the volume occupied by the controller inside the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100, the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 When installing ), it is possible to efficiently arrange the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100.

In this case, the integrated control unit 300 may be implemented as a single MCU (not shown) integrating the first and second control circuits 310 and 320 to control the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100.

The integrated control unit 300 compares the input target temperature with the current internal temperature of the vehicle, and selectively controls the electric compressor 100 and the electric heater 200 according to the comparison result.

Here, the integrated control unit 300 measures the internal temperature of the vehicle through a temperature sensor (not shown) installed inside the vehicle.

In this case, the target temperature may be input from a user through an interface device (not shown) of the cluster. In addition, instead of receiving the target temperature from the user, the integrated control unit 300 may set the target temperature by referring to optimal internal temperature data according to the vehicle internal temperature and the external temperature calculated in advance through an experiment.

The integrated control unit 300 performs a process of operating the electric heater 200 when the target temperature is higher than the current internal temperature of the vehicle. That is, the integrated control unit 300 sets the PWM control signal to be applied to the electric heater 200 in order to reach the target temperature through the calculated target temperature and the current vehicle internal temperature, and transmits the set PWM control signal to the switching unit 210 ) To operate one or more switches below the upper limit of the previously calculated number of switches.

Meanwhile, the integrated control unit 300 performs a process of operating the electric compressor 100 when the target temperature is lower than the current internal temperature of the vehicle. That is, the integrated control unit 300 sets the power to be applied to the electric compressor 100 in order to reach the target temperature through the calculated target temperature and the current vehicle internal temperature, and the electric motor unit 120 based on the set power. The electric motor unit 120 is rotated below the previously calculated limit rotation speed by controlling the AC power applied to. Accordingly, the driving force is transmitted to the compression unit 110 through the rotation of the electric motor unit 120 so that temperature control is performed.

Meanwhile, the integrated control unit 300 does not operate the electric compressor 100 and the electric heater 200 when the target temperature is the same as the current internal temperature of the vehicle.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a method for controlling an integrated cooling/heating vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the integrated control unit 300 compares the input target temperature with the current internal temperature of the vehicle (S100).

Then, the integrated control unit 300 selectively controls the electric compressor 100 and the electric heater 200 according to the comparison result between the target temperature and the internal temperature (S200).

When a method of selectively controlling the electric compressor 100 and the electric heater 200 is described, the integrated control unit 300 operates the electric heater 200 when the target temperature is higher than the current internal temperature of the vehicle. Follow the steps. On the other hand, when the target temperature is lower than the current internal temperature of the vehicle, the integrated control unit 300 performs step S220 of operating the electric compressor 100.

Meanwhile, the integrated control unit 300 does not control the electric compressor 100 and the electric heater 200 when the target temperature is the same as the current internal temperature of the vehicle.

In step S200, the integrated control unit 300 calculates a limit value of power that can be allocated to the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 through the vehicle speed and the engine rotation speed, and based on the calculated limit value of the electric power, the electric heater ( The upper limit of the number of switches that can be operated in 200) and the limited number of rotations of the electric motor unit 120 of the electric compressor 100 are calculated.

Specifically, in step S210, the integrated control unit 300 operates the switching unit 210 through a PWM control signal whose duty ratio is varied according to the input target temperature within the upper limit of the calculated number of switches to operate the electric heater 200. Control.

And, in step S220, the integrated control unit 300 controls the electric compressor 100 by adjusting the number of rotations of the electric motor unit 120 to be less than the calculated limit rotation number.

As described above, in this embodiment, the electric heater 200 and the controller provided inside the electric compressor 100 are connected to the outside of the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 and installed in the vehicle, so that the electric heater 200 And minimizes the influence of the operation of the electric compressor 100 on the controller, improves the ease of maintenance and management of the controller, and integrates the control performed by each of the electric heater 200 and the electric compressor 100 to provide an efficient interior of the vehicle. Temperature management is possible.

The present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but these are only exemplary, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present technology pertains, various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible. I will understand. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims.

100: electric compressor
110: compression unit
120: electric motor unit
130: inverter unit
200: electric heater
210: switching unit
220: heating part
300: integrated control unit
310: first control circuit
320: second control circuit

Claims (10)

An electric compressor including a compression unit for compressing the refrigerant, an electric motor unit for transmitting driving force required for compressing the refrigerant to the compression unit, and an inverter unit for converting DC power supplied from a battery into AC power and supplying it to the electric motor unit;
An electric heater including a heating unit configured to generate heat by receiving power from the battery, and a switching unit including at least one switch that is switched according to an input switching control signal to supply power of the battery to the heating unit; And
And an integrated control unit for integrally controlling the operation of the electric compressor and the electric heater.
The method of claim 1,
The integrated control unit calculates a limit value of power that can be allocated to the electric heater and the electric compressor through the vehicle speed and engine rotation speed, and an upper limit value of the number of switches operable in the electric heater based on the calculated limit value of the electric power. And calculating the limit rotation speed of the electric motor part of the electric compressor.
The method of claim 2,
The integrated control unit controls the electric heater by operating the switching unit through a PWM control signal whose duty ratio is varied according to an input target temperature, wherein the number of operating switches is less than an upper limit of the calculated number of switches. A vehicle air conditioner control device with integrated cooling and heating.
The method of claim 2,
The integrated control unit controls the electric compressor by adjusting the number of rotations of the electric motor unit to be less than the calculated limit rotation speed.
The method of claim 1,
In the integrated control unit, a first control circuit for controlling the electric compressor and a second control circuit for controlling the electric heater are connected outside the electric heater and the electric compressor to be integrated and configured. .
The method of claim 1,
The integrated control unit compares the input target temperature with the current internal temperature of the vehicle, and selectively controls the electric compressor and the electric heater according to the comparison result.
An electric compressor including a compression unit for compressing the refrigerant, an electric motor unit for transmitting driving force required for compressing the refrigerant to the compression unit, and an inverter unit for converting DC power supplied from a battery into AC power and supplying it to the electric motor unit; And
An electric heater including a heating unit that receives power from the battery and generates heat, and a switching unit that is switched according to an input switching control signal and includes at least one switch to supply power of the battery to the heating unit; As an integrated vehicle air conditioner control method,
Comparing, by the integrated control unit, an input target temperature and a current internal temperature of the vehicle; And
Selectively controlling the electric compressor and the electric heater according to a comparison result between the target temperature and the internal temperature, by the integrated control unit;
Cooling and heating integrated vehicle air conditioner control method comprising a.
The method of claim 7,
In the controlling step, the integrated control unit,
A limit value of power that can be allocated to the electric heater and the electric compressor is calculated through the vehicle speed and the engine revolution speed, and the upper limit value of the number of switches operable in the electric heater and the electric compressor based on the calculated limit value of the electric power Cooling and heating integrated vehicle air conditioner control method, characterized in that calculating the limit rotation speed of the electric motor unit.
The method of claim 8,
In the controlling step, the integrated control unit,
The electric heater is controlled by operating the switching unit through a PWM control signal whose duty ratio is varied according to the input target temperature, but the number of operating switches is less than the upper limit of the calculated number of switches. Control method.
The method of claim 8,
In the controlling step, the integrated control unit,
An integrated cooling and heating vehicle air conditioner control method, characterized in that controlling the electric compressor by adjusting the rotation speed of the electric motor unit to be less than the calculated limit rotation speed.

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