KR20210129996A - Expansion vavlue apparatus and integrated thermal management system including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an expansion valve apparatus and an integrated thermal management system including the same. The expansion valve apparatus according to the present invention may comprise: a valve body having a first branch pipe provided therein, and branching a refrigerant flowing in from an air cooling condenser to a chiller and an evaporator by a first branch pipe to flow out; a valve provided inside the valve body and controlling a flow rate of the refrigerant flowing out from the air cooling condenser to a chiller side; and an actuator which drives the valve. An objective of the present invention is to provide the expansion valve apparatus, capable of reducing parts and improving space utilization and package efficiency, and the integrated thermal management system including the same.

Description

EXPANSION VAVLUE APPARATUS AND INTEGRATED THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INCLUDING THE SAME

The present invention relates to an expansion valve device and an integrated thermal management system including the same, and more particularly, to an expansion valve that can reduce parts and improve space utilization by integrating a branch pipe, a pipe, and an expansion valve in an integrated thermal management circuit. It relates to a valve device and an integrated thermal management system including the same.

Due to the recent electrification of vehicles, the thermal management needs of electronic components such as the interior of the vehicle, high voltage batteries, and motors have been greatly expanded. Accordingly, the thermal management system of the vehicle is becoming more complicated in order to perform thermal management independently for each configuration and increase thermal efficiency by integrating the thermal management of the entire vehicle.

In order to perform integrated thermal management of such a vehicle, it is necessary to integrate and modularize complex coolant lines and parts. A concept of modularization that is simple to manufacture and compact in terms of package while modularizing a plurality of parts is required.

The matters described as the above background art are only for improving the understanding of the background of the present invention, and should not be taken as acknowledging that they correspond to the prior art already known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

KR 10-2019-0068357 A

The present invention, which has been proposed to solve the above problem, provides an expansion valve device capable of reducing parts and improving space utilization and package efficiency by integrating a branch pipe, a pipe, and an expansion valve in an integrated thermal management circuit, and the same. It aims to provide an integrated thermal management system including

An expansion valve device according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes: a valve body having a first branch pipe provided therein, and branching the refrigerant flowing in from the air-cooling condenser to the chiller and the evaporator by the first branch pipe to flow out; a valve provided inside the valve body and controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing out from the air-cooled condenser to the chiller; and an actuator for driving the valve.

valve body,

A first port through which the refrigerant flows from the air-cooled condenser, a second port through which the introduced refrigerant flows out toward the chiller, and a third port through which the introduced refrigerant flows out toward the evaporator, wherein the first branch pipe includes a first port and a second port and a structure connected to the third port.

In the valve body, the first port and the third port are provided to face each other at the same height, and the second port may be provided below the first port and the third port.

An orifice hole is formed in the pipe connected to the second port of the first branch pipe,

By controlling the opening area of the orifice hole by driving the valve up and down through the actuator, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in through the first port flowing out through the second port can be adjusted.

It may further include; a second branch pipe for combining the refrigerant flowing in from the chiller and the refrigerant flowing in from the evaporator to flow out toward the compressor.

The valve body further includes a fourth port through which the refrigerant flows from the chiller, a fifth port through which the refrigerant flows from the evaporator, and a sixth port through which the refrigerant flows out toward the compressor, The second branch pipe may have a structure connected to the fourth port, the fifth port, and the sixth port.

An integrated thermal management system including an expansion valve device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is an integrated thermal management system including an expansion valve device, comprising: an electrical line through which cooling water circulates and cooling electrical components; a battery line through which coolant circulates and cools the battery; a refrigerant line through which the refrigerant circulates and connects the compressor and the air-cooled condenser; a reservoir through which coolant flows in and out of electric equipment lines and battery lines; an electric pump that circulates the cooling water of the electric line; a battery pump that circulates the coolant in the battery line; a chiller connected to at least one of an electric field line and a battery line to cool the coolant; and an evaporator into which the refrigerant leaked from the air-cooled condenser is introduced. It may include at least one or more of

The reservoir may include a first reservoir through which the coolant of the electric vehicle line flows in and out and a second reservoir through which the coolant of the battery line flows in and out.

The inlet of the first reservoir may be connected to an outlet of the electric radiator into which the coolant that has passed through the electric component is introduced, and the inlet of the second reservoir may be connected to the outlet of the battery radiator into which the coolant that has passed through the battery is introduced.

According to the present invention, by integrating the branch pipe, the pipe, and the expansion valve in the integrated thermal management circuit according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce parts and improve space utilization.

Also, by reducing the interconnection structure between the parts, the possibility of leakage can be improved.

1 is a view showing an expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along CC of FIG. 1 .
5 is a view for explaining the operating principle of controlling the flow rate flowing out to the second port in the expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cooling circuit diagram of an integrated thermal management system including an expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the present specification or application are only exemplified for the purpose of describing the embodiments according to the present invention, and the embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented in various forms. and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in the present specification or application.

Since the embodiment according to the present invention can have various changes and can have various forms, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the present specification or application. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiment according to the concept of the present invention with respect to a specific disclosed form, and should be understood to include all changes, equivalents or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first and/or second may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another, for example, without departing from the scope of rights according to the inventive concept, a first component may be termed a second component, and similarly The second component may also be referred to as the first component.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it is understood that the other component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in between. it should be On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that no other element is present in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between elements, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to", should be interpreted similarly.

The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "comprises" or "have" are intended to designate that the described features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof exist, and include one or more other features or numbers. , it should be understood that it does not preclude the existence or addition of steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as meanings consistent with the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present specification, they are not to be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by describing preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in each figure indicate like elements.

1 is a view showing an expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along AA of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along BB of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a view for explaining an operating principle of controlling the flow rate flowing out to the second port in the expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cooling circuit diagram of the integrated thermal management system including

Referring to FIG. 1 , the expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a valve body 100 , a valve 200 , and an actuator 300 .

Specifically, the valve body 100 is provided with a first branch pipe 110 therein. In addition, the valve body 100 may branch the refrigerant flowing in from the air-cooling condenser 40 to the chiller 50 and the evaporator 60 by the first branch pipe 110 so that the refrigerant flows out. According to an embodiment, the first branch pipe 110 may be a T pipe. However, this is only an embodiment and the shape and type of the first branch pipe 110 is not limited thereto.

More specifically, the valve body 100 includes a first port 130 through which the refrigerant flows from the air-cooled condenser 40, a second port 140 through which the introduced refrigerant flows out toward the chiller 50, and the introduced refrigerant. It may include a third port 150 flowing out toward the evaporator 60 . In addition, the first branch pipe 110 may have a structure connected to the first port 130 , the second port 140 , and the third port 150 .

In other words, according to the present invention, the refrigerant flowing out from the air-cooled condenser 40 is introduced into the valve body 100 through the first port 130 , and the refrigerant introduced by the first branch pipe 110 is transferred to the second port. 140 and the third port 150 may branch and flow out into the chiller 50 and the evaporator 60 .

Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , in the valve body 100 of the device for the expansion valve 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first port 130 and the third port 150 are It may be provided to face each other at the same height. In addition, the second port 140 may be provided below the first port 130 and the third port 150 . That is, the refrigerant introduced through the first port 130 may directly flow out toward the evaporator 60 through the third port 150 , and may be discharged to the lower side through the vertical inner tube among the first branch pipes 110 . It may flow out toward the chiller 50 through the shouted second port 140 .

According to an embodiment, when the valve body 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. 1 , the first port 130 , the second port 140 , and the third port 150 may be formed on different sides, respectively. However, this is only an embodiment, and the shape of the valve body 100 and the position of each port formed in the valve body 100 are not limited thereto.

The valve 200 is provided inside the valve body 100 and can control the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing out from the air cooling condenser 40 to the chiller 50 side. In addition, the actuator 300 serves to drive the valve 200 .

Specifically, an orifice hole 190 is formed in a pipe connected to the second port 140 of the first branch pipe 110 , and the valve 200 is driven up and down through the actuator 300 to drive the orifice hole 190 . ) by adjusting the opening area, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in through the first port 130 to the chiller 50 through the second port 140 can be controlled. According to the embodiment, the valve 200 may be a needle valve, and the actuator 300 may be a stepper motor. 1 and 4 , an orifice hole 190 may be formed in the vertical pipe of the first branch pipe 110 at the front end of the second port 140 , and the valve 200 is operated through the actuator 300 . The opening area of the orifice hole 190 may be adjusted by driving it up and down.

Controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing out to the second port 140 through the valve 200 by driving the actuator 300 used in the present invention may be an electronic expansion valve method. Specifically, a driving method of the electromagnetic expansion valve will be described with reference to FIG. 5 as follows.

As shown in Figure 5, in the step motor, the rotor magnetic field is generated in the coil, and as the rotor magnetic field is generated, the permanent magnet of the rotor rotates. will do

That is, the needle valve moves up and down by the step motor, and as the needle valve moves downward, the opening area of the orifice hole 190 can be adjusted, and thus the flow rate flowing out through the outlet can be adjusted.

According to the expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention, high-pressure refrigerant flows into the valve body 100 from the air-cooled condenser 40 through the first port 130 , and the actuator 300 is driven to drive the valve 200 ) by controlling the opening area of the orifice hole 190 by driving it up and down, it is possible to expand the refrigerant to flow out toward the chiller 50 .

On the other hand, in the conventional cooling circuit, the refrigerant leaked from the air-cooled condenser 40 is branched from the branch pipe and connected to the expansion valve on the chiller 50 side and the expansion valve on the evaporator 60 side. In order to do this, a lot of branch pipes and connecting parts connecting the branch pipes and other components were needed, which was also disadvantageous in terms of packaging.

In the present invention, in order to improve the above-described problem, a branch pipe provided outside the expansion valve and a pipe connecting the branch pipe and a different configuration are built in the valve body 100, thereby reducing the possibility of leakage by reducing the connection structure of the parts. can be improved, and packaging and space utilization can be improved.

On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 , the expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention combines the refrigerant flowing in from the chiller 50 and the refrigerant flowing in from the evaporator 60 to flow out toward the compressor 30 . A second branch pipe 120 may be further included. According to the embodiment, the second branch pipe 120 may be a T pipe. However, this is only an embodiment and the shape and type of the second branch pipe 120 is not limited thereto.

In addition, according to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the second branch pipe 120 may be formed below the first branch pipe 110 . However, this is only an embodiment and the formation position of the second branch pipe 120 is not limited thereto.

In addition, the valve body 100 has a fourth port 160 through which the refrigerant flows from the chiller 50, a fifth port 170 through which the refrigerant flows from the evaporator 60, and the first through which the refrigerant flows out toward the compressor 30. It may further include 6 ports (180). In addition, the second branch pipe 120 may have a structure connected to the fourth port 160 , the fifth port 170 , and the sixth port 180 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , in the related art, the refrigerant leaked from the chiller 50 and the refrigerant leaked from the evaporator 60 were combined through a T pipe and introduced into the compressor 30 side. For this reason, a pipe connecting the T pipe and the chiller 50 was required.

In the present invention, in order to reduce the number of parts and make the overall size more compact, by embedding the T pipe and the pipe inside the valve body 100, it is possible to reduce the connection structure of the parts to improve the possibility of leakage, packaging and space Usability can be improved.

In summary, according to the expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the connection structure of parts is improved by embedding two T-pipes and two pipes connecting the T-pipes and other configurations in the valve body 100 compared to the prior art. It can be reduced to improve leak potential, and can improve packaging and space utilization.

6 is a cooling circuit diagram of an integrated thermal management system including an expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 , in the integrated thermal management system including the expansion valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention, cooling water circulates and an electrical line for cooling the electrical components 20 , and a battery for cooling the battery 10 and circulating the coolant. line, a refrigerant line that circulates the refrigerant, a refrigerant line connecting the compressor 30 and the air-cooled condenser 40, a reservoir 91 through which the cooling water of the electric field line and the battery line flows in and out, an electric field pump 90 that circulates the cooling water of the electric field line, Among the battery pump 80 that circulates the cooling water of the battery line, the chiller 50 that is connected to one or more of the electric equipment line and the battery line to cool the cooling water, and the evaporator 60 into which the refrigerant leaked from the air cooling condenser 40 is introduced It may include at least one or more.

Vehicles are equipped with various heating devices, such as electric parts including motors and inverters, high voltage batteries, and indoor air conditioners of vehicles. They need to be managed in different temperature sections, and they can be implemented independently due to different operating times.

In the electric device line, the cooling water flows therein separately from the battery line, and it can cool the electric part 20 through heat exchange with the electric part 20 . The cooling water of the electric field line may circulate through the electric field line by driving the electric pump 90 . As the electric pump 90 is driven, the circulating cooling water may be heated through heat exchange with the electric components 20 , and may be cooled through heat exchange with external air while passing through the electric radiator 21 . According to an embodiment, the electric field line may be connected to the chiller 50 , and the cooling water of the electric equipment line may be cooled through heat exchange with the refrigerant in the chiller 50 .

In the battery line, coolant flows therein and is connected to the battery 10 to cool the battery 10 through heat exchange with the battery 10 . The cooling water of the battery line may circulate through the battery line by driving the battery pump 80 . As the battery pump 80 is driven, the circulating coolant may be heated through heat exchange with the battery 10 , and may be cooled through heat exchange with the outside air while passing through the radiator of the battery 10 . Also, referring to FIG. 6 , the cooling water of the battery line may be cooled through heat exchange with the refrigerant in the chiller 50 .

In the refrigerant line, the refrigerant flows therein, and as the compressor 30 is driven, it may circulate along the refrigerant line.

In the chiller 50 , the refrigerant leaked through the second port 140 of the expansion valve 200 may be introduced. In addition, the cooling water of the battery line or the cooling water of the electric equipment line flowing into the chiller 50 may be heated through heat exchange with the refrigerant and introduced into the compressor 30 . As such, as the refrigerant in the chiller 50 recovers waste heat of the cooling water of the electrical equipment line or the cooling water of the battery line and flows into the compressor 30 in a heated state, the efficiency of the compressor 30 can be improved.

In the evaporator 60 , the refrigerant flowing out from the air cooling condenser 40 flows in through the expansion valve and evaporates, and the outside air passing through the evaporator 60 is cooled and supplied to the room to cool the room.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the reservoir 91 may include a first reservoir 92 through which the cooling water of the electric vehicle line flows in and out and a second reservoir 93 through which the cooling water of the battery line flows in and out, according to an embodiment.

In addition, the inlet of the first reservoir 92 is connected to the outlet of the electric radiator 21 into which the coolant that has passed through the electric component 20 is introduced, and the inlet of the second reservoir 93 passes through the battery 10 . It may be connected to the outlet of the radiator of the battery 10 into which the coolant is introduced.

100: valve body 110: first branch pipe
120: second branch pipe 130: first port
140: second port 150: third port
160: fourth port 170: fifth port
180: sixth port 190: orifice hole
200: valve 300: actuator
10: battery 11: battery radiator
20: electric parts 21: electric radiator
30: compressor 40: air-cooled condenser
50: chiller 60: evaporator
70: expansion valve device 80: battery pump
90: electric pump 91: reservoir
92: first reservoir 93: second reservoir
One

Claims (9)

a valve body having a first branch pipe provided therein, and branching the refrigerant flowing in from the air-cooling condenser to the chiller and the evaporator by the first branch pipe to flow out;
a valve provided inside the valve body and controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing out from the air-cooled condenser to the chiller; and
Expansion valve device comprising a; actuator for driving the valve. The method according to claim 1,
valve body,
It includes a first port through which the refrigerant flows from the air-cooled condenser, a second port through which the introduced refrigerant flows out toward the chiller, and a third port through which the introduced refrigerant flows out toward the evaporator,
The first branch pipe has a structure connected to the first port, the second port and the third port. 3. The method according to claim 2,
In the valve body, the first port and the third port are provided to face each other at the same height, and the second port is provided below the first port and the third port. 3. The method according to claim 2,
An orifice hole is formed in the pipe connected to the second port of the first branch pipe,
Expansion valve device, characterized in that by controlling the opening area of the orifice hole by driving the valve up and down through an actuator, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in through the first port flowing out through the second port. The method according to claim 1,
The expansion valve device further comprising a; a second branch pipe for combining the refrigerant flowing in from the chiller and the refrigerant flowing in from the evaporator to the compressor. 6. The method of claim 5,
The valve body further includes a fourth port through which the refrigerant flows from the chiller, a fifth port through which the refrigerant flows from the evaporator, and a sixth port through which the refrigerant flows out toward the compressor,
The second branch pipe has a structure connected to the fourth port, the fifth port and the sixth port. An integrated thermal management system including the expansion valve device of claim 1,
an electrical line through which coolant circulates and cools electrical components;
a battery line through which coolant circulates and cools the battery;
a refrigerant line through which the refrigerant circulates and connects the compressor and the air-cooled condenser;
a reservoir through which coolant flows in and out of electric equipment lines and battery lines;
an electric pump that circulates the cooling water of the electric line;
a battery pump that circulates the coolant in the battery line;
a chiller connected to at least one of an electric field line and a battery line to cool the coolant; and
an evaporator into which the refrigerant leaked from the air-cooled condenser is introduced; An integrated thermal management system comprising at least one of. 8. The method of claim 7,
The reservoir is an integrated thermal management system, characterized in that it includes a first reservoir to which the coolant in and out of the electrical equipment line and a second reservoir to which the coolant in the battery line flows in and out. 9. The method of claim 8,
The inlet of the first reservoir is connected to the outlet of the electric radiator into which the coolant that has passed through the electric parts is introduced,
The integrated thermal management system, characterized in that the inlet of the second reservoir is connected to the outlet of the battery radiator into which the coolant that has passed through the battery is introduced.

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