Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
  • F01P—COOLING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; COOLING OF INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES
  • F01P7/00—Controlling of coolant flow
  • F01P7/14—Controlling of coolant flow the coolant being liquid
  • F01P7/16—Controlling of coolant flow the coolant being liquid by thermostatic control
  • F01P7/165—Controlling of coolant flow the coolant being liquid by thermostatic control characterised by systems with two or more loops
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
  • F01P—COOLING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; COOLING OF INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES
  • F01P11/00—Component parts, details, or accessories not provided for in, or of interest apart from, groups F01P1/00 - F01P9/00
  • F01P11/02—Liquid-coolant filling, overflow, venting, or draining devices
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
  • F01P—COOLING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; COOLING OF INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES
  • F01P2050/00—Applications
  • F01P2050/24—Hybrid vehicles

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a cool ing system for cool ing of at least two components, generating heat when in operation and having different cooli ng requirements, the system comprising at least two cool ing circuits, each of which has :
• the invention relates to cool ing systems with at least two cooling circuits for cooling of components with different cooling requirements, e.g . because there is a wish to maintai n them within dif- ferent temperature areas, althoug h the cooli ng requirements may differ in other ways, e. g . the components may withstand temperature fluctuations to different extents, and different cooling circuits are therefore preferable.
• the invention relates to cooling systems for arrangement where the avai lability of space is li mited, such as in motor vehicles, and for this reason the invention will mainly be described for this application , for purposes of elucidating , but not li miting the invention .
• the electric energy storage such as the battery pack
• the power electronics used to control the energy exchange between the energy storage and the electric machi ne
• the batteries i n a said battery pack may be considerably strained and develop a lot of heat, since it is desirable to recycle as much kinetic energy as possible when braking the vehicle.
• the temperature of the batteries is entirely decisive for how quickly they age, which means it is i mportant to observe the associated temperature setpoints of the batteries.
• the objective of the present invention is to provide a cooling system of the type defined above, which is improved in at least some respect in relation to prior art cooling systems of this type.
• this objective is achieved by providing such a cooling system with the features listed in the characterising portion of claim 1.
• cooling circuits of this cooling system share the coolant thanks to the connecting conduit between them and have a joint expansion tank, both space and weight required for the cooling system may be saved, which also leads to a cost saving. Still, it is possible to cool the components belonging to the different circuits in accordance with their cooling requirements, e.g. within different temperature areas, since the pumps may be operated entirely independently of each other, i.e. with different speeds, if required. As a result, energy is saved, since the different components do not need to be cooled down to the same level, as would be the case if they were arranged in one single cooling system.
• the cooling system comprises, for each one of the said cooling circuits, a deaeration conduit leading from the highest point of the respective circuit to the expansion tank, with a check valve arranged in the deaeration conduit, to prevent a flow of coolant from the expansion tank to said point in the circuit.
• a check valve arranged in the deaeration conduit, to prevent a flow of coolant from the expansion tank to said point in the circuit.
• At least one of the cool ing circuits comprises a bypass conduit leading past the circuit's heat exchanger, and a control device adapted to control the flow of coolant in the cooling circuit so that it passes whol ly or partly throug h the heat exchanger and/or wholly or partly throug h the bypass conduit.
• Throug h the existence of such a bypass conduit another possibil- ity of controll ing the cooli ng ability of the cooling circuit in question is obtai ned.
• I n another embodi ment of the i nvention this possi bility is further expanded by arranging a device in said bypass conduit, the device being adapted to supply heat energy, in a controllable manner, to the coolant passing throug h the bypass conduit.
• the device being adapted to supply heat energy, in a controllable manner, to the coolant passing throug h the bypass conduit.
• each said cooling circuit is adapted to cool at least one component having temperature setpoints within a range, which does not overlap the range for the temperature setpoints of the component or the components that the other said cooling circuit(s) are adapted to cool .
• the cooli ng system comprises a device adapted to i mpact the heat exchange i n said heat exchanger, and to bring one and the same coolant, separate from the coolant in said cooling circuits, to pass first throug h the heat exchanger belongi ng to the cooli ng circuit for the component with the lowest temperature setpoints, and then , sequentially, throug h the heat exchangers for components with increasi ngly hig h temperature set- poi nts.
• Such an internal arrangement of the heat exchangers contrib- utes to the cooli ng system 's compactness, while it ensures that the coolant that is broug ht to pass throug h the heat exchangers is at its coldest, when it passes throug h the heat exchanger belonging to the cooling circuit with the component supposed to be kept within the lowest temperature area.
• said heat exchangers are arranged in a row after each other, and said device comprises a fan adapted to generate a flow of air i n the di rection of said row, and past said heat exchangers. Such a placement and cooling of the heat exchangers results in a compact air duct.
• the cool ing circuits are adapted for cooli ng of components with temperature setpoints within ranges that differ by at least 2°C, at least 1 0°C or at least 20°C from each other, i .e. the hig hest temperature setpoint of one of the components belonging to one of the cooli ng circuits is at least 2°C, at least 1 0°C or at least 20°C lower than the lowest temperature setpoint of another component belonging to another cooling circuit.
• one of said cooling circuits is adapted to cool a component which has a poorer resistance to temperature variations than a component or components, adapted to be cooled by said other cooli ng circuit(s) .
• the present invention hereby provides for a possibility to efficiently satisfy different cooli ng requirements, where e.g . the temperature of one of the cool ing cir- cuits must fluctuate fairly much , and where the components in another of the cooling circuits are sensitive to temperature fluctuations, which subjects them to mechanical fatigue.
• each said cooling circuit is adapted to cool at least one component, whose cooling requirement varies differently during operation of the component, than does the cooli ng requirement of a component or components adapted to be cooled by the other said cool ing ci rcuit(s) .
• different cooling requirements of the components belonging to different circuits may be met, i n case these cooling requirements differ because they have different requirements in different operating modes, e.g . i n the form of a component in the form of an inverter with a requirement for strong cooling when starting a hybrid vehicle, and subsequently a smaller cool ing requirement.
• the cooli ng system is adapted to be arranged in a motor vehicle with a hybrid drive system and to cool , with one of said cool ing circuits, an electrical energy storage, such as a battery pack connected to an electric machine of the vehicle, and to, with the other cooli ng circuit, cool at least one power electronics component, such as an inverter, arranged to control the exchange of electric power between said energy storage and said electric machine.
• an electrical energy storage such as a battery pack connected to an electric machine of the vehicle
• the other cooli ng circuit cool at least one power electronics component, such as an inverter, arranged to control the exchange of electric power between said energy storage and said electric machine.
• the invention also relates to the use of a cooling system according to claim 13 and a motor vehicle with the features listed in claim 14.
• Fig 1 is a very schematic view illustrating the structure of a cooling system according to the present invention.
• a cooling system for cooling of a battery pack and power electronics arranged between this battery pack and an electric machine in a vehicle 1, with a hybrid drive system is very schematically shown in Fig 1.
• the cooling system comprises two cooling circuits, namely a first 2 for cooling of a said battery pack 3 and a second 4 for cooling of power electronics in the form of a DC/DC converter 5 and an inverter 6, arranged for energy exchange between the battery pack 3 and an electric machine 7 in the vehicle.
• the path for such energy exchange is schematically illustrated by a dashed line, and the energy flow is according to the arrow 8 when the vehicle is braked, when the electric machine functions as a generator, and according to the arrow 9, when the electric machine functions as an engine.
• Both circuits have one pump 10, 11 each for pumping of coolant, e.g. water, in the direction of the circuit's arrows past the battery pack 3 and the inverter 6 and the DC/DC converter 5, for cooling thereof.
• the battery pack 3 may have a setpoint area for its tem- perature within the range of +10°C to +40°C, while both the components 5 and 6 in the other cooling circuit could have a corresponding temperature area between +60°C and +80°C (even though they are able to withstand -40°C). It would also be possible for more components than those displayed to be cooled by the respective cooling cir- cuits, and e.g.
• both cooling circuits there is a heat exchanger 12, 13 for delivery to another medium of heat absorbed from the cooling circuit's components by the coolant flowing in the respective cooling circuit, i.e., in the displayed case, air that is brought to forcedly flow past the heat exchangers via a fan 14.
• both the heat exchangers 12 and 13 are arranged in a row, also in order to let the heat exchanger 12, belonging to the first cooling circuit 2, be passed first by the air, so that this heat exchanger obtains air which is as cold as possible.
• a connecting conduit 15 connects the cooling circuits 2 and 4 with each other, at their inlet to the respective pumps 10, 11.
• An expansion tank 16, common to the cooling circuits, is connected to the connecting conduit 15. In order for as little heat as possible to "spill over" to the first cooling circuit 2 from the cooling circuit 4, the connecting point between these is the coldest point in the respective circuit.
• a deaeration conduit 1 7, 1 8 is arranged, leading from the hig hest point 1 9, 20 of the respective circuit to the expansion tank 1 6.
• the position of the points 1 9, 20 may be entirely different in the respective ci rcuit than as drawn i n the figure, and depends entirely on the three di mensional structure of the circuits.
• a check valve 21 , 22 is arranged, to prevent the flow of coolant from the expansion tank 1 6 to said poi nts 1 9, 20 in the circuit. Accordingly, no back-flow can be forced from the expansion tank to the respective circuit and the pu mps cannot work against each other, which they would otherwise risk doi ng in certain modes.
• a bypass conduit 23 is arranged past this cooling circuit's heat exchanger 1 2, and in this bypass conduit a device 24 is arranged, which is adapted to controllably supply heat energy to coolant passi ng throug h the bypass conduit.
• a three-way valve 25 is arranged for distribution of the flow of coolant between the heat exchanger 1 2 and the bypass conduit 23.
• a temperature sensor 26 is arranged in the first cool ing circuit, which sensor may naturally also be arranged in the second cooling ci rcuit if needed.
• a control device 27 is arranged to control the three-way valve 25, the fan 1 4 and the pu mps 1 0, 1 1 in order to thus control the cooling action of the respective cooli ng circuit. Accordingly, the two cooling circuits may be controlled independently of each other.
• the function of the cool ing system according to the invention is as fol lows.
• the vehicle has been at a standstil l in cold weather and is started, e.g . only the first pu mp 1 0 of the first circuit 2 may be operated to circulate coolant i n the first circuit 2 throug h the heater 24, i .e. without passing the heat exchanger 1 2, i n order to heat the battery to a temperature within the temperature setpoint range of the bat- tery pack.
• the battery pack 3 and the power electronics components 5, 6 may then be cooled down to stay within said temperature range, throug h suitable control of the output of the fan 1 4 and the pu mps 1 0, 1 1 .
• the second cooling circuit could be started at the same ti me as the first, in order to cool load losses but also the power electronics, if these generate the electric power operating the heater. If the vehicle is e. g. braked forcefully, there is a great need to cool down the components, and the ai r flow is forced past the heat exchangers 1 2, 1 3, and the pu mps 1 0, 1 1 are operated with a hig h output, while the output may be reduced considerably in case the vehicle is operated at cruising speed with the use of only the combustion engine for its propulsion .
• the i nvention is obviously not l i mited i n any way to the embodi ment descri bed above, but nu merous possible modifications thereof should be obvious to a person skilled in the area, without such person departing from the spi rit of the invention as defined by the appended clai ms.
• the cool ing circuits could be equipped with a said by- pass conduit, which also does not need to have any heater.
• the cooling system may have more than two said cool ing circuits, which have a joint expansion tank. I n such case, the connecting conduit that connects the cooling circuits has several branches.
• the ex- pansion tank wil l then also have several inlets from the deaeration conduits.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Cooling, Air Intake And Gas Exhaust, And Fuel Tank Arrangements In Propulsion Units (AREA)
• Air-Conditioning For Vehicles (AREA)

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Cited By (6)

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Citations (4)

• 2014
  • 2014-11-27 WO PCT/SE2014/051414 patent/WO2015080659A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2014-11-27 DE DE112014005146.2T patent/DE112014005146T5/de not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (4)

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