Multi-channel cooling water valve, thermal management system and vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses a multi-channel cooling water valve which comprises a valve body and a valve element rotatably arranged on the valve body, four ports are formed in the valve body, and the valve element is arranged to selectively enable one port to be communicated with the other port and enable one port to be communicated with the other two ports at the same time. According to the multi-channel cooling water valve, the switching requirement of eight working modes of a heat management system can be met, the performance requirement of a whole vehicle is met, and the cost of the whole vehicle and the arrangement space of the whole vehicle can be saved. The invention further discloses a thermal management system and a vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of automobile technology, and in particular, relates to a multi-channel cooling water valve, a thermal management system and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] At present, the battery heating system on the extended-range vehicle and the heating system on the passenger car generally heat the coolant through a high-voltage electric heater or the engine. The cooling water valve adjusts the direction or proportion of the valve core according to the system control to heat the relevant components in the system to meet the relevant performance and comfort requirements of the whole vehicle.

[0003] When the range-extended vehicle heating condition requires 8 working modes, see the attached Fig.10 The existing single cooling water valve cannot meet the requirements of the eight working modes, or in order to meet the requirements of the eight working modes, it is necessary to use multiple water valve combinations and pipeline connections. However, this multi-water valve arrangement and pipeline connection system layout space brings great challenges and greatly increases the cost of the vehicle.

[0004] The Chinese patent with application number 202321952803.8 discloses a new type of thermal management electronically controlled cooling valve, which belongs to the field of automotive parts technology. It includes a housing, a dynamic sealing ring, a ball valve, a control valve shaft seal, a liquid inlet pipe and a liquid outlet pipe. The ball valve connects the liquid outlet pipe and the liquid inlet pipe, and a dynamic sealing ring is connected between the ball valve and the liquid outlet pipe. A control valve shaft seal is arranged above the ball valve, and a housing is arranged outside the liquid inlet pipe and the liquid outlet pipe. The liquid inlet pipe and the liquid outlet pipe are tightly combined with the housing by laser welding. The new type of thermal management electronically controlled cooling valve uses EPDM skeleton oil seals, which can effectively avoid oil leakage when the machine parts are running, and the rubber joint has good static pressure and can withstand high temperature, so that the machine parts can operate normally; the housing of the new type of thermal management electronically controlled cooling valve is laser welded and injection molded with the liquid inlet pipe and the liquid outlet pipe, and the product precision is guaranteed by the mold, and the consistency is good.

[0005] It is hoped to provide an improved multi-channel cooling water valve, especially with regard to how to realize the switching of 8 working modes of the thermal management system, save the cost of the whole vehicle and save the layout space of the whole vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present invention provides a multi-channel cooling water valve, the purpose of which is to meet the switching requirements of 8 working modes of the thermal management system, save vehicle cost and save vehicle layout space.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a multi-channel cooling water valve, including a valve body and a valve core rotatably arranged on the valve body, four ports are arranged on the valve body, and the valve core is arranged to selectively connect one of the ports with another port and connect one of the ports with the other two ports at the same time.

[0008] An actuator is arranged on the valve body, and the actuator is connected to the valve core.

[0009] The present invention also provides a thermal management system, comprising the multi-channel cooling water valve, an air conditioning system, a cooler, a first water pump, and a heat exchanger; the multi-channel cooling water valve is connected to the air conditioning system, the cooler, the first water pump, the engine and the heat exchanger.

[0010] The four ports arranged on the valve body are respectively a first port, a second port, a third port and a fourth port. The first port is connected to the engine, the second port is connected to the air-conditioning system, the third port is connected to the first water pump, and the fourth port is connected to the heat exchanger.

[0011] The heat exchanger is connected to the battery cooling circuit. When the first port is connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in a first operating mode. The coolant heated by the engine enters the heat exchanger and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit to achieve heating of the power battery.

[0012] When the first port is connected to the second port, the thermal management system is in the second working mode, the coolant of the air-conditioning system enters the engine through the multi-channel cooling water valve, and the coolant heated by the engine enters the air-conditioning system.

[0013] When the first port is connected to the second port and the fourth port at the same time, the thermal management system is in the third working mode, and the coolant heated by the engine enters the heat exchanger, exchanges heat with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit, and realizes heating of the power battery; at the same time, the coolant of the air-conditioning system enters the engine through the multi-channel cooling water valve, and the coolant heated by the engine enters the air-conditioning system.

[0014] When the first water pump is connected to the PTC heater and the third port is connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in the fourth working mode, and the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the heat exchanger and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit to achieve heating of the power battery;

[0015] When the third port is connected to the second port, the thermal management system is in the fifth working mode, and the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the air conditioning system to achieve heating of the vehicle passenger compartment;

[0016] When the third port is connected to the second port and the fourth port at the same time, the thermal management system is in the sixth operation mode.

[0017] When the engine is turned off, the third port is controlled to be connected to the second port and the first port is controlled to be connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in the seventh working mode, the coolant heated by the residual heat of the engine enters the heat exchanger, and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit to achieve heating of the power battery;

[0018] At the same time, the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the air-conditioning system to achieve heating of the vehicle passenger compartment.

[0019] The present invention also provides a vehicle, comprising the thermal management system.

[0020] The multi-channel cooling water valve of the present invention can meet the switching requirements of the eight working modes of the thermal management system, meet the performance requirements of the entire vehicle, and can also save the cost of the entire vehicle and save the layout space of the entire vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is an exploded schematic diagram of a multi-channel cooling water valve of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the status of a thermal management system and a multi-channel cooling water valve in a first working mode;

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the status of the thermal management system and the multi-channel cooling water valve in the second working mode;

[0024] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the status of the thermal management system and the multi-channel cooling water valve in the third working mode;

[0025] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the status of the thermal management system and the multi-channel cooling water valve in the fourth working mode;

[0026] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the status of the thermal management system and the multi-channel cooling water valve in the fifth working mode;

[0027] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the status of a thermal management system and a multi-channel cooling water valve in a sixth working mode;

[0028] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the status of the thermal management system and the multi-channel cooling water valve in the seventh working mode;

[0029] Fig. 9is a schematic diagram of the status of a thermal management system and a multi-channel cooling water valve in an eighth working mode;

[0030] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the eight working modes of the thermal management system;

[0031] The markings in the above figures are: 1. Gasket; 2. Bushing; 3. Valve core; 4. Valve body; 5. Spline; 6. Shaft seal; 7. End cover; 8. Actuator; 9. Screw; 10. Engine; 11. Power battery; 12. First water pump; 13. Second water pump; 14. Heater core; 15. Cooler; 16. Heat exchanger. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more comprehensively below with reference to the relevant drawings. Several embodiments of the present invention are given in the drawings, but the present invention can be implemented in different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in the text. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the content disclosed in the present invention more thorough and comprehensive.

[0033] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower" and similar expressions used in this article are for illustrative purposes only.

[0034] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly connected by technicians in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The terminology used in the specification of the present invention is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0035] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a multi-channel cooling water valve, including a valve body 4 and a valve core 3 rotatably arranged on the valve body 4, four ports are arranged on the valve body 4, and the valve core 3 is arranged to selectively connect one of the ports with another port and connect one of the ports with the other two ports at the same time.

[0036] Specifically, the four ports provided on the valve body 4 are respectively the first port, the second port, the third port and the fourth port. The multi-channel cooling water valve is applied to the thermal management system of the vehicle, and the thermal management system is provided with 8 working modes. The thermal management system is in the first working mode, and the first port is in a connected state with the fourth port. The thermal management system is in the second working mode, and the first port is in a connected state with the second port. The thermal management system is in the third working mode, and the first port is in a connected state with the second port and the fourth port at the same time. The thermal management system is in the fourth working mode, and the third port is in a connected state with the fourth port. The thermal management system is in the fifth working mode, and the third port is in a connected state with the second port. The thermal management system is in the sixth working mode, and the third port is in a connected state with the second port and the fourth port at the same time. The thermal management system is in the seventh working mode, and the third port is in a connected state with the second port, and the first port is in a connected state with the fourth port at the same time. The thermal management system is in the eighth working mode, and the third port is in a connected state with the fourth port, and the first port is in a connected state with the second port at the same time.

[0037] like Figure 1 As shown, an actuator 8 is arranged on the valve body 4, and the actuator 8 is connected to the valve core 3. The actuator 8 is used to control the rotation of the valve core 3. The multi-channel cooling water valve also includes a sealing gasket and an end cover.

[0038] The multi-channel cooling water valve is connected to the vehicle controller through a wiring harness to receive and feedback signals (LIN communication, etc.). When the controller receives the signal, the water valve adjusts the valve core 3 angles according to the system control requirements to make the coolant flow out from different outlets to meet the coolant flow distribution requirements in the system.

[0039] like Fig.10 As shown, when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 1, the valve core 3 rotates to 140°, so that the first port and the fourth port are connected;

[0040] When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 2, the valve core 3 rotates to 200°, so that the first port and the second port are connected;

[0041] When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 3, the valve core 3 rotates to 140° to 200°, so that the first port is connected with the second port and the fourth port at the same time and the corresponding proportional adjustment is achieved;

[0042] When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 4, the valve core 3 rotates to 80°, so that the third port and the fourth port are connected;

[0043] When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 5, the valve core 3 rotates to 20°, so that the third port and the second port are connected;

[0044] When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 6, the valve core 3 rotates to 20° to 80°, so that the third port is connected to the second port and the fourth port at the same time and the corresponding proportional adjustment is achieved;

[0045] When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 7, the valve core 3 rotates to 260°, so that the first port is connected to the fourth port and the third port is connected to the second port;

[0046] When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 8 , the valve core 3 rotates to 260°, so that the first port is connected to the second port and the third port is connected to the fourth port.

[0047] The multi-channel cooling water valve of the present invention is a water valve used in the cooling circulation system in the field of extended-range vehicles. The multi-channel cooling water valve controls the direction of the regulating valve core 3 according to the system to achieve the switching and proportional adjustment of the cooling circulation system, and is used to heat the heater core 14 or the power battery 11 in the cooling system to meet the relevant performance and comfort requirements of the entire vehicle.

[0048] The present invention also provides a thermal management system, comprising the multi-channel cooling water valve of the above structure and an air conditioning system, a cooler 15, a first water pump 12, and a heat exchanger 16; the multi-channel cooling water valve is connected to the air conditioning system, the cooler 15, the first water pump 12, the engine 10 and the heat exchanger 16. The specific structure of the multi-channel cooling water valve can be referred to Figure 1 Since the thermal management system of the embodiment of the present invention includes the multi-channel cooling water valve in the above embodiment, it has all the advantages of the above multi-channel cooling water valve.

[0049] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the first port provided on the valve body 4 is connected to the engine 10, the second port is connected to the air conditioning system, the third port is connected to the first water pump 12, and the fourth port is connected to the heat exchanger 16. The air conditioning system includes a blower, a heater core 14 and an evaporator, the heater core 14 is connected to the heat exchanger 16 and the second port of the multi-channel cooling water valve, and the heater core 14 is located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

[0050] like Figure 2As shown, the heat exchanger 16 is connected to the battery cooling circuit, and the battery cooling circuit includes a second water pump 13 and a cooler 15. One end of the second water pump 13 is connected to the power battery 11, and the other end of the second water pump 13 is connected to one end of the cooler 15, and the other end of the cooler 15 is connected to the power battery 11. In winter, when the engine 10 is working, the heat of the engine 10 is used to heat the battery. When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 1, the valve core 3 rotates to 140°, the first port of the multi-channel cooling water valve is connected to the fourth port, and the thermal management system is in the first working mode. The coolant heated by the engine 10 enters the heat exchanger 16 and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit. The heated coolant in the heat exchanger 16 flows to the power battery 11, realizing the heating of the power battery 11, and ensuring that the power battery 11 performs the best performance at a suitable temperature.

[0051] In winter, when the engine 10 is working, the heat of the engine 10 is used to heat the heater core 14. Figure 3 As shown, when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 2, the valve core 3 rotates to 200°, the first port of the multi-channel cooling water valve is connected to the second port, the thermal management system is in the second working mode, and the coolant of the air-conditioning system enters the engine 10 through the multi-channel cooling water valve. The coolant heated by the engine 10 enters the warm air core 14 of the air-conditioning system, and the passengers in the passenger compartment feel the most suitable temperature perception under the blowing of the blower.

[0052] In winter, when the engine 10 is working, the heat of the engine 10 is used to heat the power battery 11 and the heater core 14 at the same time. Figure 4As shown, when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 3, the valve core 3 rotates to 170°, the first port is connected to the second port and the fourth port at the same time, the thermal management system is in the third working mode, and the coolant heated by the engine 10 enters the heat exchanger 16, and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit to achieve heating of the power battery 11; at the same time, the coolant of the air conditioning system enters the engine 10 through the multi-channel cooling water valve, and the coolant heated by the engine 10 enters the air conditioning system. In this process, 50% of the coolant heated by the engine 10 flows to the heat exchanger 16, and the rest flows to the passenger compartment heater core 14, thereby heating the power battery 11 and the heater core 14, and then the two parts of the coolant flow to the engine 10 through the multi-channel cooling water valve. In this cycle, the heating needs of the battery and the passenger compartment are met at the same time. Moreover, in this mode, the water valve core 3 can be rotated at 140° to 200° according to the demand, and the opening of the second port and the fourth port can be adjusted. The two channels formed in the multi-channel cooling water valve are adjusted accordingly to give priority to meeting the higher heating demand of the power battery 11 or the passenger compartment. When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 3.1, the valve core 3 rotates to 160°, and at this time, 70% of the channels formed by the first port and the second port can be connected, and 30% of the channels formed by the first port and the fourth port can be connected. In this mode, 70% of the coolant flows to the heater core 14, giving priority to meeting the higher heating demand of the passenger compartment; when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 3.2, the valve core 3 rotates to 190°, and at this time, 70% of the channels formed by the first port and the fourth port can be connected, and 30% of the channels formed by the first port and the second port can be connected. In this mode, 70% of the coolant flows to the heat exchanger 16, and the heating efficiency of the power battery 11 is much greater than that of the heater core 14.

[0053] In pure electric mode, the engine 10 is not working, and the heating demand of the power battery 11 is met by the PTC heater in the system, such as Figure 5 As shown, the first water pump 12 is connected to the PTC heater. When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 4, the valve core 3 rotates to 80°, the third port is connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in the fourth working mode, the first water pump 12 and the second water pump 13 start to work, and the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the heat exchanger 16 to exchange heat with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit. The heated coolant in the heat exchanger 16 flows to the power battery 11 to achieve heating of the power battery 11.

[0054] In pure electric mode, the engine 10 is not working. At this time, the heating demand of the passenger compartment is met by the PTC heater in the system. The PTC heater is connected to the heater core 14. Figure 6As shown, when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 5, the valve core 3 rotates to 20°, the third port is connected to the second port, the thermal management system is in the fifth working mode, and the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the warm air core 14 of the air-conditioning system, so that the passengers can feel the most suitable temperature perception under the blowing of the blower, thereby realizing the heating of the vehicle passenger compartment.

[0055] In pure electric mode, the engine 10 is not working, and the heating demand of the power battery 11 and the passenger compartment is met by the PTC heater in the system, such as Figure 7 As shown, when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 6, the valve core 3 rotates to 50°, the third port is connected to the second port and the fourth port at the same time, and the thermal management system is in the sixth working mode. The heated coolant can flow to the heater core 14 and the power battery 11, and the heating requirements of the power battery 11 and the passenger compartment are met at the same time. In this process, 50% of the coolant heated by the PTC heater flows to the heat exchanger 16, and 50% flows to the passenger compartment heater core 14, thereby heating the power battery 11 and the heater core 14 at the same time, and then the two parts of the coolant flow to the PTC heater through the channel formed by the third port and the second port and the channel formed by the third port and the fourth port respectively. In this way, the heating requirements of the power battery 11 and the passenger compartment are met at the same time. In addition, in this mode, the water valve core 3 can be rotated at 20° to 80° according to the needs, and the opening of the second port and the fourth port can be adjusted. The two channels formed in the multi-channel cooling water valve are adjusted in proportion to preferentially meet the higher heating requirements of the power battery 11 or the passenger compartment. When the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 6.1, the valve core 3 rotates to 40°, at which time the channel formed by the third port and the second port can be 70% connected, and the channel formed by the third port and the fourth port can be 30% connected. In this mode, 70% of the coolant flows to the heater core 14, giving priority to meeting the higher heating needs of the passenger compartment; when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 6.2, the valve core 3 rotates to 70°, at which time the channel formed by the third port and the fourth port can be 70% connected, and the channel formed by the third port and the second port can be 30% connected. In this mode, 70% of the coolant flows to the heat exchanger 16, and the heating efficiency of the battery is much greater than that of the heater core 14.

[0056] When the engine 10 is turned off, from the perspective of reducing energy consumption, the residual heat of the engine 10 can be used to heat the battery, such as Figure 8As shown, when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 7, the valve core 3 rotates to 260°, so that the third port is connected to the second port and the first port is connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in the seventh working mode, the second water pump 13 is working, and the coolant heated by the residual heat of the engine 10 enters the heat exchanger 16, and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit. The heated coolant in the heat exchanger 16 flows to the power battery 11 to achieve heating of the power battery 11. At the same time, the first water pump 12 is working, and the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the warm air core 14 of the air conditioning system to heat the passenger compartment, thereby achieving heating of the vehicle passenger compartment.

[0057] Because the vehicle cooling system is complex, all channels need to be opened during after-sales refueling, so a refueling mode is added to prevent the air in the system from being exhausted uncleanly, which affects the performance and energy consumption of the vehicle. Fig. 9 As shown, when the actuator 8 receives the vehicle instruction 8, the valve core 3 rotates to 260°, so that the third port is connected to the fourth port and the first port is connected to the second port, and the thermal management system is in the eighth working mode. During manual filling, the battery circulation system and the warm air circulation system are both turned on to allow the coolant to flow fully, and then the air conditioning system is turned on to run the water pump. At this time, the battery circulation system and the warm air circulation system will discharge the gas into the expansion kettle through the degassing pipe in the system.

[0058] In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 16 is a plate heat exchanger.

[0059] The present invention also provides a vehicle, comprising the thermal management system of the above structure. Since the vehicle of the embodiment of the present invention comprises the thermal management system of the above embodiment, it has all the advantages of the above thermal management system.

[0060] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned method. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention, or the concept and technical solution of the present invention are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Multi-channel cooling water valve, characterized by: The valve body comprises a valve body and a valve core rotatably arranged on the valve body. The valve body is provided with four ports. The valve core is arranged to selectively connect one of the ports with another port and connect one of the ports with the other two ports at the same time.

2. The multi-channel cooling water valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: An actuator is arranged on the valve body, and the actuator is connected to the valve core.

3. A thermal management system, characterized in that: It comprises the multi-channel cooling water valve according to claim 1 or 2, an air conditioning system, a cooler, a first water pump, and a heat exchanger; the multi-channel cooling water valve is connected to the air conditioning system, the cooler, the first water pump, the engine and the heat exchanger.

4. The thermal management system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The four ports arranged on the valve body are respectively a first port, a second port, a third port and a fourth port. The first port is connected to the engine, the second port is connected to the air-conditioning system, the third port is connected to the first water pump, and the fourth port is connected to the heat exchanger.

5. The thermal management system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The heat exchanger is connected to the battery cooling circuit. When the first port is connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in a first operating mode. The coolant heated by the engine enters the heat exchanger and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit to achieve heating of the power battery.

6. The thermal management system according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the first port is connected to the second port, the thermal management system is in the second working mode, the coolant of the air-conditioning system enters the engine through the multi-channel cooling water valve, and the coolant heated by the engine enters the air-conditioning system.

7. The thermal management system according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the first port is connected to the second port and the fourth port at the same time, the thermal management system is in the third working mode, and the coolant heated by the engine enters the heat exchanger, exchanges heat with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit, and realizes heating of the power battery; at the same time, the coolant of the air-conditioning system enters the engine through the multi-channel cooling water valve, and the coolant heated by the engine enters the air-conditioning system.

8. The thermal management system according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the first water pump is connected to the PTC heater and the third port is connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in the fourth working mode, and the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the heat exchanger and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit to achieve heating of the power battery; When the third port is connected to the second port, the thermal management system is in the fifth working mode, and the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the air conditioning system to achieve heating of the vehicle passenger compartment; When the third port is connected to the second port and the fourth port at the same time, the thermal management system is in the sixth operation mode.

9. The thermal management system according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the engine is turned off, the third port is controlled to be connected to the second port and the first port is controlled to be connected to the fourth port, the thermal management system is in the seventh working mode, the coolant heated by the residual heat of the engine enters the heat exchanger, and performs heat exchange with the coolant in the battery cooling circuit to achieve heating of the power battery; At the same time, the coolant heated by the PTC heater enters the air-conditioning system to achieve heating of the vehicle passenger compartment.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: A thermal management system comprising any one of claims 1 to 9.

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