Deionizer and thermal management system

Abstract

The present invention provides a deionizer and thermal management system. The deionizer comprises a housing and a filter cartridge. The filter cartridge comprises a barrel, which includes a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet. The liquid outlet is provided with a first annular support edge extending circumferentially away from the filter cartridge. When the filter cartridge is installed axially within the housing, an installation space is formed between the barrel and the inner wall of the housing, into which granular deionizing material is introduced through the feed port. The surface of the barrel is further provided with through-holes extending radially through the barrel. When coolant flows from the liquid inlet, it flows through the through-holes into the installation space, where the deionizing material removes charged ions from the coolant. The above technical solution can reduce the volume of the thermal management system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of hydrogen fuel cell systems, and in particular to a deionizer and a thermal management system. Background Art

[0002] Hydrogen is widely considered the future's preferred energy source. As the primary device for storing hydrogen energy, hydrogen fuel cell system engines offer numerous advantages, including zero emissions, high power, high reliability, and a wide range of raw material sources. These advantages have led to significant attention in the energy sector. In recent years, my country's hydrogen fuel cell technology has made significant progress overall. During the fuel cell system design process, various subsystems must be connected to the stack to form an integrated fuel cell system engine.

[0003] Currently, fuel cell thermal management systems suffer from numerous components and low integration. For example, the thermal management system requires equipment to remove tiny ions from the coolant, and also equipment to remove impurities from the coolant. Consequently, the separate installation of a deionizer and a particulate filter complicates system integration.

[0004] Therefore, a new type of thermal management system is needed to integrate the deionizer and filter, which will reduce one component of the system and improve the integration of the thermal management system. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to overcome the above technical defects, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a deionizer and a thermal management system to reduce the volume of the thermal management system.

[0006] The present invention discloses a deionizer, comprising a housing and a filter cartridge fixedly installed in the housing.

[0007] The filter cartridge includes a cylinder body, the cylinder body includes a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, the liquid outlet is provided with a first annular support edge, and the first annular support edge extends along the circumference of the liquid outlet in a direction away from the filter cartridge;

[0008] When the filter cartridge is installed into the shell along the axial direction of the shell, an installation space is formed between the cartridge body and the inner wall of the shell, and granular deionized material is placed through the feed port;

[0009] The surface of the cylinder is also provided with at least one through hole running through the cylinder radially. When the coolant flows in from the liquid inlet, it flows into the installation space through the through hole, and the deionized material removes the charged ions from the coolant, and the coolant flows out of the cylinder through the liquid outlet.

[0010] Preferably, the first annular support edge is provided with at least one feed port penetrating along the axial direction of the first annular support edge;

[0011] The filter cartridge also includes a seal, which seals the feed port after the deionized material enters the installation space;

[0012] The housing includes a left housing, a right housing, and an intermediate housing disposed between the left housing and the right housing;

[0013] The middle shell is fixedly installed between the left shell and the right shell by means of thread connection, welding or flange connection.

[0014] Preferably, the liquid inlet is provided with a second annular support edge, and the second annular support edge extends along the circumference of the liquid outlet in a direction away from the filter cartridge;

[0015] The aperture of the through hole is smaller than the radial width of the deionized material.

[0016] Preferably, at least one baffle is provided in the cylinder, wherein the fixed end of each baffle is fixed to the inner wall of the cylinder, and the free end extends radially along the cylinder until it is separated from the inner wall on the other side to form a flow space;

[0017] The baffle restricts the flow path of the coolant, so that the coolant needs to flow through the flow space to increase the flow resistance of the filter cartridge.

[0018] Preferably, there are at least two baffles, the length of each baffle along the cylinder is greater than the radius of the cylinder, and adjacent baffles are staggered;

[0019] The baffle includes a plurality of baffles, each baffle being in a shutter structure on the baffle, and the opening directions of the baffles of adjacent baffles are perpendicular to each other;

[0020] The baffle has a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft has a driving force threshold. When the impact force of the coolant is greater than the driving force threshold, the baffle is opened.

[0021] Preferably, it also includes:

[0022] A filter screen is provided at the liquid outlet and covers the liquid outlet;

[0023] The through holes are designed in multiple rows, and each row of through holes is arranged along the axial direction of the cylinder.

[0024] Preferably, the liquid outlet of the middle shell is provided with an internal thread, and the end of the right shell is provided with an external thread, and the external thread is threadably connected to the internal thread.

[0025] Preferably, the left housing includes a first liquid feed cylinder and a first transition cylinder, the inner diameter of the first liquid feed cylinder is uniform, the inner diameter of the first connecting end of the first transition cylinder is consistent with the inner diameter of the first liquid feed cylinder, and gradually increases in a direction away from the first connecting end;

[0026] The right shell includes a second liquid feed cylinder and a second transition cylinder. The inner diameter of the second liquid feed cylinder is uniform. The inner diameter of the second connecting end of the second transition cylinder is consistent with the inner diameter of the second liquid feed cylinder and gradually increases in the direction away from the second connecting end.

[0027] Preferably, the inner diameter of the other end of the first transition cylinder relative to the first connecting end is consistent with the inner diameter of the cylinder;

[0028] The inner diameter of the other end of the second transition cylinder relative to the second connecting end is consistent with the inner diameter of the cylinder body.

[0029] The present invention also discloses a thermal management system, comprising a coolant circulation pipeline and the deionizer as described above, wherein the deionizer is installed on the coolant circulation pipeline.

[0030] Compared with the existing technology, the above technical solution has the following beneficial effects:

[0031] 1. Reduce the volume of the fuel cell system, improve integration, and all components are easy to fix and install, with high filtration efficiency;

[0032] 2. Rationally arrange the fuel cell energy management system to reduce corresponding components and reduce energy consumption;

[0033] 3. It can improve the adsorption efficiency of ions in the coolant and also has a good filtering effect on harmful impurity particles in the coolant. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the filter cartridge in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the filter cartridge in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 A side view of a deionizer in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 4 A side view of a deionizer in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 5 An axial cross-sectional view of a deionizer having a filter cartridge according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 6 It is an axial cross-sectional view of a deionizer having a filter cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Reference numerals:

[0041] 100-deionizer;

[0042] 110-housing, 111-liquid inlet, 112-liquid outlet, 113-left housing, 114-right housing, 115-middle housing, 116-first liquid inlet cylinder, 117-first transition cylinder, 118-second liquid inlet cylinder, 119-second transition cylinder;

[0043] 120 - cylinder, 121 - first annular support edge, 122 - feed port, 123 - installation space, 124 - through hole, 125 - second annular support edge, 126 - baffle, 127 - filter screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The advantages of the present invention are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0045] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, when referring to the drawings, identical numerals in different figures represent identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to represent all possible embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0046] The terms used in this disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0047] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining."

[0048] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0049] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "installed", "connected" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, or it can be the internal communication between two components. It can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0050] In the following description, the suffixes such as "module", "component" or "unit" used to represent elements are only used to facilitate the description of the present invention and have no specific meaning. Therefore, "module" and "component" can be used interchangeably.

[0051] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 , shows the structure of the filter cartridge within the deionizer 100 according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention. The basic deionizer 100 includes a housing 110 and a filter cartridge fixedly mounted within the housing 110. Coolant to be filtered flows into the housing 110 and contacts the filter cartridge, which then processes the coolant. Specifically, the filter cartridge includes a barrel 120 having openings along its axial sides, namely a liquid inlet 111 and a liquid outlet 112. Coolant can flow into the inlet 111 and out of the outlet 112. To facilitate the secure installation of the barrel 120 within the filter cartridge, a first annular support edge 121 is provided at the outer edge of the barrel 120 at the liquid outlet 112. The first annular support edge 121 extends along the circumference of the liquid outlet 112 away from the barrel 120, so that the first annular support edge 121 forms a skirt on the outer side of the barrel 120. When the barrel 120 is placed in the housing 110, the first annular support edge 121 substantially conforms to the inner wall of the filter cartridge, preventing the barrel 120 from rocking within the filter cartridge. In a preferred embodiment, at least one feed port 122 is provided on the first annular support edge 121. Each feed port 122 extends through the first annular support edge 121 along its axial direction, so that the two sides of the first annular support edge 121 are interconnected. It is understandable that when the feed port 122 is not provided, the deionized material can be directly fed into the gap between the cylinder 120 and the housing 110 .

[0052] When the barrel 120 having the above-described configuration is placed into the housing 110, due to the I-shaped or I-like design, the barrel 120 does not contact the inner wall of the housing 110, and the two are separated from each other to form an installation space 123. In order to remove ions from the coolant, a deionizing material is also placed in the housing 110. In this embodiment, the deionizing material, or deionizing particles, is placed from the feed port 122 (the size of the deionizing material is smaller than the feed port 122) into the installation space 123. When the deionizing material fills the installation space 123, or after the desired amount of deionizing material is placed in the installation space 123, a seal can be used to seal the feed port 122 to prevent the deionizing material from leaking out of the installation space 123. As a result, the housing 110 contains both the barrel 120 for filtering impurities and the deionizing material for removing ions. In order to introduce the coolant into the installation space 123, the surface of the cylinder 120 is also provided with at least one through hole 124. Each through hole 124 penetrates the cylinder 120 radially, connecting the installation space 123 with the internal space of the cylinder 120. When the coolant flows into the internal space of the cylinder 120 from the liquid inlet 111, it will flow into the through hole 124. After flowing into the installation space 123 from the through hole 124, the coolant comes into contact with the deionization material, and the deionization material removes charged ions from the coolant. After returning to the internal space of the cylinder 120, the impurities are screened out by the screen of the cylinder 120, and the treated coolant flows out from the liquid outlet 112, so that the deionizer 100 in this embodiment removes charged ions and impurities at the same time.

[0053] In a preferred embodiment, the housing 110 comprises a left shell 113, a right shell 114, and an intermediate shell 115 positioned between the left and right shells 113, 114. The intermediate shell 115 is fixedly mounted between the left and right shells 113, 114 via threaded connections, welding, or flange connections. The aforementioned barrel 120 is positioned within the intermediate shell 115, creating an installation space 123 between the intermediate shell 115 and the barrel 120. This design allows the barrel 120 to be placed within the intermediate shell 115 before the entire housing 110 is assembled.

[0054] Furthermore, to further stabilize the position of the cartridge 120 within the housing 110 and prevent the deionized material from overflowing from the left housing 113 or the right housing 114, in the second embodiment, the liquid inlet 111 is provided with a second annular support edge 125. The second annular support edge 125 extends along the circumference of the liquid inlet 111 away from the filter cartridge, making the two sides of the cartridge 120 symmetrical. The first annular support edge 121 and the second annular support edge 125 limit the size of the installation space 123. In addition, the aperture of the through hole 124 is smaller than the radial width of the deionized material to prevent the deionized material from leaking.

[0055] When preparing the deionizer 100 of the first embodiment, the filter cartridge is installed in the left housing 113 (with the side with the second annular support edge 125 facing inward); then, the deionized resin material is poured into the gap formed by the outer shell 110 and the cylinder 120. After the gap is filled, the filter screen 127 is placed on it and fixed (welded); finally, the left housing 113 and the right housing 114 are connected to the middle housing 115 by welding.

[0056] When preparing the deionizer 100 of the second embodiment, the filter cartridge is first installed into the left housing 113 (with the side with the feed port 122 facing outward), and then the deionized resin material is poured into the installation space 123 formed by the outer shell 110 and the cylinder 120 through the feed port 122. The feed port 122 is sealed with a seal, and the filter screen 127 is placed. The left housing 113 and the right housing 114 are connected to the intermediate housing 115 by threads (sealing material is required here to prevent coolant leakage).

[0057] Continue reading Figure 3-Figure 6 To increase the coolant's flow time within the deionizer 100 and enhance the deionization and impurity removal effects, at least one baffle 126 is further disposed within the cylinder 120. Each baffle 126 has a fixed end secured to the inner wall of the cylinder 120, while its free end extends radially along the cylinder 120 until it separates from the inner wall on the other side, forming a flow passage. It should be understood that when there are three or more baffles 126, the extension directions of all baffles 126 are not restricted to radial directions lying on a single straight line, but can instead lie in radial directions lying on different straight lines. The baffles 126 reduce the cross-sectional area through which the coolant is permitted to flow, thereby restricting the coolant's flow path and forcing the coolant to flow through the flow passage, thereby increasing the flow resistance of the filter cartridge. In embodiments where all baffles 126 extend in radial directions lying on different straight lines, the flow passages are not located along the same axial direction, but rather are distributed in a spiral pattern. This results in a complex and intertwined pattern of areas permitted to flow during coolant flow, further increasing the flow resistance.

[0058] Furthermore, there are at least two baffles 126, each of which has a length along the cylinder 120 that is greater than the radius of the cylinder 120. This ensures that, in a radial cross-sectional direction, the area of ​​the baffles 126 is greater than the area of ​​the flow space. Adjacent baffles 126 are staggered, so that, when viewed from a side view, the liquid outlet 112 is not visible from the liquid inlet 111 (and vice versa), thereby increasing the flow resistance within the cylinder 120. Furthermore, the baffles 126 include multiple baffles, each of which has a louver structure on the baffle 126, namely, one end is fixed to a pivot, and the other end can rotate along the pivot when a force is applied. The opening directions of the baffles of adjacent baffles 126 are perpendicular to each other, or are designed to be substantially perpendicular. When the coolant flow rate is high and the baffles designed in the aforementioned embodiment are unable to quickly allow the coolant to pass through, the fast-flowing coolant will strike the baffles, causing the baffles to rotate, revealing a gap for flow. The flap has a rotating shaft with a driving force threshold. When the impact force of the coolant exceeds the driving force threshold, the flap opens. In other words, when the flap is subjected to a large flow of coolant, it can overcome the weight of the blade itself and pass directly through the baffle 126. When the coolant pressure is low, the coolant cannot break through the flap, thereby sealing the baffle 126, achieving automatic closing of the baffle 126 and limiting the maximum coolant flow resistance.

[0059] To screen out impurities, the deionizer 100 also includes a filter screen 127, which is positioned at the liquid outlet 112 and fully covers the liquid outlet 112. A filter screen 127 can also be positioned at the liquid inlet 111 to improve the removal of impurity particles from the coolant. Furthermore, the through holes 124 on the surface of the cylinder 120 are arranged in multiple rows, with each row of through holes 124 arranged axially along the cylinder 120. The aperture of each through hole 124 gradually decreases from the inside of the cylinder 120 to the outside of the cylinder 120, thereby accelerating the flow of coolant from the inside of the cylinder 120 to the installation space 123. The more coolant is directed into the installation space 123, the better the deionization effect on the coolant.

[0060] On the other hand, the liquid outlet 112 of the middle shell 115 is provided with an internal thread, and the end of the right shell 114 is provided with an external thread. After the external thread and the internal thread are threadedly connected, the entire deionizer 100 can be assembled.

[0061] Further, the left housing 113 includes a first liquid feed cylinder 116 and a first transition cylinder 117, the inner diameter of the first liquid feed cylinder 116 is uniform, the inner diameter of the first connecting end of the first transition cylinder 117 is consistent with the inner diameter of the first liquid feed cylinder 116, and gradually increases in the direction away from the first connecting end; the right housing 114 includes a second liquid feed cylinder 118 and a second transition cylinder 119, the inner diameter of the second liquid feed cylinder 118 is uniform, the inner diameter of the second connecting end of the second transition cylinder 119 is consistent with the inner diameter of the second liquid feed cylinder 118, and gradually increases in the direction away from the second connecting end. Through the above configuration, after the coolant entering through the liquid inlet 111 enters the left housing 113, the flow rate will slow down to increase the time in the filter cartridge as much as possible, and after the coolant about to flow out from the liquid outlet 112 enters the right housing 114, the flow rate will intensify to increase the speed of discharge as much as possible.

[0062] Optionally, the inner diameter of the other end of the first transition cylinder 117 relative to the first connecting end is consistent with the inner diameter of the cylinder 120; the inner diameter of the other end of the second transition cylinder 119 relative to the second connecting end is consistent with the inner diameter of the cylinder 120, so that the left shell 113, the right shell 114 can be smoothly connected with the intermediate shell 115.

[0063] The deionizer of any of the above embodiments can be applied to a coolant circulation pipeline, specifically arranged in the main loop of the thermal management system, without the need to configure a conductivity sensor separately, reducing the design difficulty of the coolant circulation pipeline.

[0064] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention have better practicability and do not impose any form of limitation on the present invention. Any technician familiar with the field may use the technical content disclosed above to change or modify it into an equivalent effective embodiment. However, any modification or equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention are still within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A deionizer comprising a housing and a filter cartridge fixedly mounted in the housing, characterized in that: The filter cartridge includes a barrel, the barrel including a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, the liquid outlet is provided with a first annular support edge, the first annular support edge extends in a direction away from the filter cartridge along the circumference of the liquid outlet; the first annular support edge is provided with at least one feed port penetrating along the axial direction of the first annular support edge; When the filter cartridge is installed into the shell along the axial direction of the shell, an installation space is formed between the cartridge body and the inner wall of the shell, and granular deionized material is placed through the feed port; The surface of the cylinder is further provided with at least one through hole penetrating radially along the cylinder. When the coolant flows in from the liquid inlet, it flows into the installation space through the through hole, and then the deionized material removes charged ions from the coolant, and the coolant flows out of the cylinder through the liquid outlet. At least one baffle is further provided in the cylinder, wherein a fixed end of each baffle is fixed to the inner wall of the cylinder, and a free end extends radially along the cylinder until it is separated from the inner wall on the other side to form a flow space; The baffle restricts the flow path of the coolant so that the coolant needs to flow through the flow space to increase the flow resistance of the filter cartridge; There are at least two baffles, the length of each baffle along the cylinder is greater than the radius of the cylinder, and adjacent baffles are staggered. When the number of baffles is 3 or more, the extension directions of all baffles are located in radial directions on different straight lines, so that the flow spaces are not located in the same axial direction and are distributed in a spiral manner; The baffle includes a plurality of baffles, each of which is in a shutter structure on the baffle, and the opening directions of the baffles of adjacent baffles are perpendicular to each other; The baffle has a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft has a driving force threshold. When the impact force of the coolant is greater than the driving force threshold, the baffle is opened.

2. The deionizer according to claim 1, wherein The filter cartridge further includes a sealing member, which seals the feed port after the deionized material enters the installation space; The housing comprises a left housing, a right housing and an intermediate housing disposed between the left housing and the right housing; The intermediate shell is fixedly installed between the left shell and the right shell by means of thread connection, welding or flange connection.

3. The deionizer according to claim 2, wherein The liquid inlet is provided with a second annular support edge, and the second annular support edge extends along the circumference of the liquid inlet in a direction away from the filter cartridge; The aperture of the through hole is smaller than the radial width of the deionization material.

4. The deionizer according to claim 1, wherein Also includes: a filter screen, disposed at the liquid outlet and covering the liquid outlet; The through holes are designed in multiple rows, and the through holes in each row are arranged along the axial direction of the cylinder.

5. The deionizer according to claim 2, wherein The liquid outlet of the intermediate shell is provided with an internal thread, and the end of the right shell is provided with an external thread, and the external thread is threadably connected to the internal thread.

6. The deionizer according to claim 2, wherein The left housing includes a first liquid feed cylinder and a first transition cylinder, the inner diameter of the first liquid feed cylinder is uniform, the inner diameter of the first connecting end of the first transition cylinder is consistent with the inner diameter of the first liquid feed cylinder, and gradually increases in a direction away from the first connecting end; The right shell includes a second liquid feed cylinder and a second transition cylinder. The inner diameter of the second liquid feed cylinder is uniform. The inner diameter of the second connecting end of the second transition cylinder is consistent with the inner diameter of the second liquid feed cylinder and gradually increases in a direction away from the second connecting end.

7. The deionizer according to claim 6, wherein The inner diameter of the other end of the first transition cylinder relative to the first connecting end is consistent with the inner diameter of the cylinder; The inner diameter of the other end of the second transition cylinder relative to the second connecting end is consistent with the inner diameter of the cylinder body.

8. A thermal management system comprising a coolant circulation pipeline, characterized in that: It also includes a deionizer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the deionizer is installed on the coolant circulation pipeline.

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