Active brake cooling system and method

Abstract

The invention discloses an active brake cooling system which is provided with a cooling module controller for obtaining the temperature of a vehicle brake, the cooling module controller is connected with an air distribution valve and outputs a control signal to the air distribution valve, and an air inlet of the air distribution valve is connected with an air storage tank through a main air pipe. A plurality of air outlets of the air distribution valve are connected with cooling nozzles blowing air to the brake through air pipelines respectively, and an air inlet of the air storage tank is connected with an air compressor. According to the active brake cooling system, when the friction amplitude of the brake is in a high-temperature condition, the controller is linked with the air energy storage device, an air pipeline channel is actively opened, extra cooling airflow is provided, and the brake is directly cooled. When the temperature of the brake is reduced to a set value, the air cooling system is automatically closed, and energy consumption is saved. The system is suitable for vehicles under normal road conditions, especially under extreme road conditions such as mountain roads and continuous downhill long slopes, and the heat fading resistance advantage is more obvious.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of automobile brake systems, and in particular to active brake cooling technology. Background Art

[0002] At present, pure electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and extended-range hybrid electric vehicles have been increasingly recognized by users. With the increase in the number of vehicles in the market, the dynamic performance of new energy vehicles has also attracted more and more attention from OEMs and users. Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles differ in three aspects. First, due to the increase in the battery life of the power battery, the vehicle is getting heavier; second, due to the characteristics of the motor drive, the power is getting better and better, comparable to the acceleration time of traditional fuel sports cars from 0 to 100 kilometers; third, electric vehicles pursue extreme power consumption, the rim shape pursues low wind resistance, the ventilation conditions in the brake area are poor, the heat dissipation is poor, and the brake operating temperature is high.

[0003] In summary, heavier vehicle weight, stronger power and poorer heat dissipation all directly affect the performance of the vehicle's braking system and also put higher demands on system development.

[0004] Under various working conditions and driving states, the vehicle requires a more stable braking system performance and better thermal decay during operation to ensure driving safety. Therefore, the brake cooling system is particularly important. At present, most of the brake cooling implemented adopts air cooling. For example, the public document with the publication number CN 118640245A, the publication date is September 13, 2024, and the patent name is "A phase change material, air cooling and heat pipe coupled automobile brake disc heat dissipation system", which discloses a phase change material, air cooling and heat pipe coupled automobile brake disc heat dissipation system, including: a heat pipe, whose cooling section is arranged at the air inlet of the brake disc, adopts a serpentine design, a Tesla valve is arranged in the heat pipe, and the heat pipe is embedded in the brake disc; a metal pipe, which is arranged between the two layers of heat pipes, the metal pipe is encapsulated with a phase change material, the metal pipe and the heat pipe evaporation section are placed together in the high temperature area of ​​the brake disc during braking, and the metal pipe is placed between the upper and lower discs; a heat dissipation rib, which is arranged between the upper and lower discs and used as a support for the upper and lower discs; a heat dissipation fin, and the metal pipe passes through the heat dissipation fin.

[0005] Existing traditional solutions cannot solve the current problems. We urgently need a smarter way to change the situation faced by new energy vehicles, cool down the brake temperature, and reduce the occurrence of thermal decay. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to realize an active brake cooling system that can actively control the cooling timing to reduce the working temperature of the brake surface, prevent thermal decay of the brake system, improve the reliability of the vehicle's braking performance, and ensure the driver's driving safety.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an active brake cooling system, the system is provided with a cooling module controller for obtaining the temperature of the vehicle brake, the cooling module controller is connected to and outputs a control signal to the air distribution valve, the air inlet of the air distribution valve is connected to the air storage tank via the main air pipe, the multiple air outlets of the air distribution valve are respectively connected to the cooling nozzles that blow air to the brake through air pipelines, and the air inlet of the air storage tank is connected to an air compressor.

[0008] The vehicle brake temperature is collected by an infrared sensor and transmitted to a cooling module controller. The infrared sensor includes two front temperature sensors fixed on the front wheel steering knuckles and two rear temperature sensors fixed on the rear wheel steering knuckles.

[0009] The vehicle brake temperature is estimated by a brake temperature calculation module of the body controller, and the brake temperature calculation module is connected to and outputs the calculated temperature value to the cooling module controller.

[0010] The brake includes two front brake discs and their matching front brake calipers, as well as a rear brake disc and its matching rear brake caliper. The air distribution valve is provided with four air outlets which are respectively connected to cooling nozzles through air pipes. The cooling nozzles are fixed near the wheel arches of the four wheels. The communication interface of the cooling module controller is connected to a large display screen in the vehicle, and the large display screen is used to display the working status of the active brake cooling system.

[0011] The compressor of the automobile air conditioner is provided with two parallel condensers, one of which is a cooling condenser for an active brake cooling system, one section of the main air pipe is a thickened cavity, the cooling condenser is fixed in the cavity, and the cooling module controller is connected to and outputs a control signal to the automobile air conditioner.

[0012] An atomizing nozzle with the same spraying direction is fixed beside each cooling nozzle. The atomizing nozzle is connected to a liquid storage container via a water pump pipeline. The cooling module controller is connected to and outputs a control signal to the water pump.

[0013] The air tank, air distribution valve and air compressor are all components of the automobile air suspension system. The automobile air suspension system is provided with an air spring controller for controlling the operation of the air distribution valve and the air compressor. The liquid storage container is a separate water storage container, and the water pump is a water storage jet water pump.

[0014] The active brake cooling method comprises the following steps:

[0015] Step 1: Get the current brake temperature in real time when the car is started;

[0016] Step 2: If the current temperature of the brake exceeds the set threshold value A, the air distribution valve is controlled to blow air to each brake to cool it down;

[0017] Step 3: If the current temperature of the brake is lower than the safety threshold, the control air distribution valve is closed.

[0018] The current temperature of the brake is the average temperature of the four brakes;

[0019] The air distribution valve controls the opening of the valve leading to the corresponding brake air pipeline according to the temperature of each brake. The higher the temperature, the greater the valve opening of the brake air pipeline.

[0020] If the current temperature of the brake exceeds threshold value B, the car air conditioner is started to cool the main air pipe. If the current temperature of the brake exceeds threshold value C, the water pump is started. The threshold value A < threshold value B < threshold value C. After the car air conditioner is started to cool the main air pipe and / or the water pump is started, when the current temperature of the brake is lower than the safety threshold, the car air conditioner is turned off to cool the main air pipe and / or the water pump is turned off.

[0021] When the temperature difference between the car's brakes is greater than the set value, the air distribution valve opens the air line valve to the brake with the highest temperature until the temperature difference between the brakes is close;

[0022] When the infrared sensor and the brake temperature calculation module calculate the temperature at the same time, the parameters estimated by the brake temperature calculation module are used as redundant data of the infrared sensor, and when the infrared sensor fails, the infrared sensor data is replaced, and when the infrared sensor is normal, the infrared sensor is calibrated by determining the difference between the estimated data and the collected data;

[0023] When the active brake cooling system starts to cool the brakes, the large display shows the working status and parameters of the active brake cooling system.

[0024] The active brake cooling system of the present invention can be linked with the air energy storage device through the controller when the brake friction amplitude is at a high temperature, actively open the air pipeline channel, provide additional cooling airflow, and directly cool the brake. When the brake temperature drops to a set value, the air cooling system is automatically turned off to save energy. In addition to being suitable for normal vehicle road conditions, the system is especially suitable for extreme road conditions such as mountain roads and continuous long downhill slopes, and its anti-thermal decay performance advantage is more obvious. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The following is a brief description of the contents expressed in each figure in the specification of the present invention and the marks in the figure:

[0026] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the active brake temperature cooling system;

[0027] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the control method of the active brake cooling system;

[0028] The markings in the above figures are: 1. Front brake disc; 2. Front temperature sensor; 3. Front brake caliper; 4. Cooling module controller; 5. Large display screen; 6. Air pipeline; 7. Air spring controller; 8. Air compressor; 9. Air distribution valve; 10. Air tank; 11. Rear brake disc; 12. Rear temperature sensor; 13. Rear brake caliper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following is a further detailed description of the specific implementation methods of the present invention, such as the shape, structure, relative position and connection relationship between the various components involved, the function and working principle of each part, the manufacturing process and operation method, etc., through the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, so as to help those skilled in the art to have a more complete, accurate and in-depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solution of the present invention.

[0030] The active brake cooling system can actively cool down the brakes of the car after the operating temperature rises. For conventional four-wheel vehicles, the brakes include two front brake discs 1 and their matching front brake calipers 3, as well as rear brake discs 11 and their matching rear brake calipers 13. Active cooling requires obtaining the temperature parameters of the brakes. The brake operating temperature monitoring system provides the system with the function of sensing the friction pair temperature of the brake disc and the friction pad, including an infrared temperature sensor, which directly collects the temperature of the working surface through the sensor, or indirectly estimates the temperature of the brake disc surface through a software algorithm. The software function can be integrated into the brake temperature calculation module of the body controller. The brake temperature calculation module performs comprehensive analysis and calculation based on the braking time, braking force, ambient temperature, and brake performance. The brake operating temperature monitoring system is connected and outputs the temperature signal to the cooling module controller 4.

[0031] The brake working temperature monitoring system can obtain the working temperature of the brake system in two ways. One is to use an infrared sensor, which is installed on the steering knuckle. The collected temperature signal is sent to the cooling system controller through the CAN through the sensor harness; the other is to estimate the working temperature through the software algorithm to obtain the brake working temperature. It can be used alone or as a signal redundancy solution. The redundant design has two functions. When the infrared sensor fails, it replaces the infrared sensor data and uses the parameters obtained by the brake temperature calculation module as a backup solution to ensure the reliability of the system. When the infrared sensor is normal, the infrared sensor is calibrated by judging the difference between the estimated data and the collected data. The parameters of the brake temperature calculation module are used as a comparison solution. When the difference is too large, it is corrected or used as one of the reference points for judging the abnormality of the infrared temperature sensor, so that the driver can know the vehicle status in time and the vehicle can alarm in time.

[0032] The cooling module controller 4 is the core decision-making part of the active brake cooling system, which can be integrated with other domain controllers or with the air spring controller 7. It is connected to the energy storage device and the air compressor 8 through the wiring harness, and obtains the temperature sensor data information from the CAN. According to the preset control logic, it issues instructions to the solenoid valve of the air distribution valve 9 device to control the opening and closing timing, so as to achieve the purpose of cooling the working temperature of the brake.

[0033] The cooling module controller 4 is connected to and outputs a control signal to the air distribution valve 9. The air inlet of the air distribution valve 9 is connected to the air storage tank 10 via the main air pipe. The multiple air outlets of the air distribution valve 9 are respectively connected to the cooling nozzles that blow air to the brake through the air pipeline 6. The air inlet of the air storage tank 10 is connected to the air compressor 8. The air storage system here can utilize the air storage components of the existing air suspension system on the car, thereby reducing the equipment cost of the active brake cooling system. In addition to retaining the original functional parts of the air suspension system, the air distribution valve 9 adds four additional air outlets, and the four air outlets are respectively connected to the cooling nozzles through the air pipeline 6. The cooling nozzles are fixed near the wheel covers of the four wheels. The car air suspension system is provided with an air spring controller 7 for controlling the air distribution valve 9 and the air compressor 8. When the active brake cooling system is working, when the pressure of the air tank 10 is insufficient, the air spring controller 7 will automatically start the air compressor 8 to replenish the air in the air tank 10. The air distribution valve 9 is connected to the cooling module controller 4 through the wiring harness to receive the controller instruction, and the opening and closing of the air pipeline 6 is realized by the opening and closing of the solenoid valve. The air tank 10 is connected to the air distribution valve 9 through the air pipeline 6. High-pressure air is stored and flows in the system. Each cooling nozzle is aimed at the working part of the brake to guide the air in the car air tank 10 to the brake area.

[0034] In order to further increase the cooling effect of the system, the automobile air conditioner can be used to cool the ejected gas, so that the gas ejected to the brake is a low-temperature gas. This is particularly suitable for situations where the ambient temperature is high. The compressor of the automobile air conditioner can be equipped with two parallel condensers, one of which is a cooling condenser for the active brake cooling system, and the other is a condenser for conventional air conditioning refrigeration. The ends of the two condensers are both connected to the evaporator part, and the two coolers are in parallel. Independent valves are set at the inlets of the two coolers. When the cooling condenser is working, the valve at the inlet of the condenser is opened to cool the condenser. The device is arranged in the main air pipe, one section of which is a thickened cavity. The cooling condenser is a strip-shaped structure as a whole and is fixed in the cavity. The direction of the fin gap of the cooling condenser is the same as the gas flow direction of the main air pipe. Because the cavity where the cooling condenser is placed is the thickened part, this part needs to be placed horizontally, and the bottom is a natural condensate storage area. It only needs to set a drain valve at the bottom. When the cooling condenser is started, the gap is opened to quickly drain the condensate by using the internal and external pressure difference. The cooling condenser is fixed in the cavity, and the cooling module controller 4 is connected and outputs a control signal to the car air conditioner to be turned on when needed.

[0035] In addition, an atomizing nozzle with the same spraying direction can be fixed beside each cooling nozzle. The atomizing nozzle is connected to the liquid storage container via a water pump pipeline. This part can utilize the existing strong windshield spraying equipment. The liquid storage container stores water separately, and the water pump is a water storage and injection water pump, which reduces the equipment cost. The atomizing nozzle makes the sprayed liquid into water mist, which will evaporate quickly when it touches the brake and will not affect the braking performance of the brake. The cooperation of the atomizing nozzle and the cooling nozzle can increase the humidity near the brake without completely wetting the brake. While improving the cooling effect, it will not affect the braking effect of the brake at all. Different thresholds need to be set, such as threshold A, threshold B, and threshold C, where threshold A < threshold B < threshold C. If the current temperature of the brake exceeds the set threshold A, the air distribution valve 9 is controlled to blow air to each brake for cooling. If the current temperature of the brake exceeds threshold B, the car air conditioner is started to cool the main air pipe. If the current temperature value of the brake exceeds threshold C, the water pump is started to achieve three-speed cooling, thereby further improving the cooling effect and efficiency of the brake. When the car air conditioner is started to cool the main air pipe and / or the water pump is started, when the current temperature of the brake is lower than the safety threshold, the car air conditioner is turned off to cool the main air pipe and / or the water pump is turned off.

[0036] The communication interface of the cooling module controller 4 is connected to the large display screen 5 in the car. The large display screen 5 is the core display part of the system, which is used to display the working status of the active brake cooling system. The brake operating temperature, the function entry and exit of the active brake cooling system, and the system fault information can be displayed on the screen, so that the driver can fully understand the working status of the system, that is, when the active brake cooling system starts to cool the brakes, the large display screen 5 displays the working status and parameters of the active brake cooling system.

[0037] like Figure 2 As shown, the active brake cooling system monitors the surface temperature of the brake disc through an infrared sensor (combined with the brake temperature estimated by the software). The temperature data is preferably compared by mean value, that is, the current temperature of the brake is the mean temperature of the four brakes. The temperature information is transmitted to the cooling system controller in real time through the sensor harness connected to the controller. After receiving the brake temperature information, the cooling system controller compares it with the temperature threshold set by the system. If the temperature is within the normal range, the cooling system does not intervene. When the temperature of the brake rises to exceed the set value, the active brake cooling system starts the intervention program. The cooling controller transmits the instruction to the air spring controller, and the air spring controller sends the solenoid valve opening instruction to the air distribution valve 9. After the solenoid valve of the air distribution valve 9 receives the opening signal, the solenoid valve opens, and the high-pressure air inside the air tank 10 flows from the air tank 10 to the brake area near the wheel arch through the air pipe 6. The relatively low-temperature gas inside the air pipe 6 blows through the high-temperature brake working surface area, the working surface temperature continues to decrease, and the brake fade performance gradually improves.

[0038] During this process, the air distribution valve 9 controls the opening of the valve leading to the corresponding brake air pipeline 6 according to the temperature of each brake. The higher the temperature, the larger the valve opening of the brake air pipeline 6. At the same time, the infrared temperature sensor sends a temperature signal to the cooling controller in real time. The air pipeline 6 is always in a state of allowing airflow until the brake temperature drops below the threshold. The temperature signal is transmitted to the cooling controller, and the controller issues an instruction. The solenoid valve of the air distribution valve 9 is closed, the air pipeline 6 channel is blocked, and the system stops working until the next air cooling working cycle is started.

[0039] In addition, the system can also cool down independently when some brakes are abnormal. When the temperature difference between the car brakes is greater than the set value, the air distribution valve 9 opens the valve of the air pipeline 6 leading to the brake with the highest temperature until the temperature difference between the brakes is close;

[0040] The active brake cooling system and method can monitor the operating temperature of the brake system in real time, and adaptively start the cooling working state as needed according to the temperature state of the brake, without human intervention. Compared with the existing technology, the cooling air comes from the high-pressure energy storage device and is independent of the vehicle's driving speed. It can still have good cooling capacity under low-speed conditions (such as mountain roads, down long slopes, etc.), and can effectively reduce the operating temperature of the brake. When designing the brake, the diameter and thickness of the brake disc can be reduced, thereby achieving a market prospect of lightweight and cost optimization.

[0041] The present invention can reuse the existing controller and air supply system of the vehicle air suspension system to achieve hardware sharing, greatly giving play to the role of the existing system and maximizing cost-benefit. At the same time, it can provide the operating temperature values ​​of the front and rear brakes for the vehicle, providing the possibility of monitoring the working health and safe driving of the brake system, realizing the automatic cooling function of the brake temperature, and providing excellent redundant safety protection for existing vehicles and future autonomous driving vehicles.

[0042] 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. Active brake cooling system, characterized in that: The system is provided with a cooling module controller for obtaining the temperature of the vehicle brake. The cooling module controller is connected to and outputs a control signal to the air distribution valve. The air inlet of the air distribution valve is connected to the air storage tank via the main air pipe. The multiple air outlets of the air distribution valve are respectively connected to cooling nozzles for blowing air to the brakes through air pipelines. The air inlet of the air storage tank is connected to an air compressor.

2. The active brake cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vehicle brake temperature is collected by an infrared sensor and transmitted to a cooling module controller. The infrared sensor includes two front temperature sensors fixed on the front wheel steering knuckles and two rear temperature sensors fixed on the rear wheel steering knuckles.

3. The active brake cooling system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The vehicle brake temperature is estimated by a brake temperature calculation module of the body controller, and the brake temperature calculation module is connected to and outputs the calculated temperature value to the cooling module controller.

4. The active brake cooling system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The brake includes two front brake discs and their matching front brake calipers, as well as a rear brake disc and its matching rear brake caliper. The air distribution valve is provided with four air outlets which are respectively connected to cooling nozzles through air pipes. The cooling nozzles are fixed near the wheel arches of the four wheels. The communication interface of the cooling module controller is connected to a large display screen in the vehicle, and the large display screen is used to display the working status of the active brake cooling system.

5. The active brake cooling system according to claim 1, 2 or 4, characterized in that: The compressor of the automobile air conditioner is provided with two parallel condensers, one of which is a cooling condenser for an active brake cooling system, one section of the main air pipe is a thickened cavity, the cooling condenser is fixed in the cavity, and the cooling module controller is connected to and outputs a control signal to the automobile air conditioner.

6. The active brake cooling system according to claim 5, characterized in that: An atomizing nozzle with the same spraying direction is fixed beside each cooling nozzle. The atomizing nozzle is connected to a liquid storage container via a water pump pipeline. The cooling module controller is connected to and outputs a control signal to the water pump.

7. The active brake cooling system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The air tank, air distribution valve and air compressor are all components of the automobile air suspension system. The automobile air suspension system is provided with an air spring controller for controlling the operation of the air distribution valve and the air compressor. The liquid storage container is a separate water storage container, and the water pump is a water storage jet water pump.

8. An active brake cooling method, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1: Obtain the current brake temperature in real time when the car is started; Step 2: If the current temperature of the brake exceeds the set threshold value A, the air distribution valve is controlled to blow air to each brake to cool it down; Step 3: If the current temperature of the brake is lower than the safety threshold, the control air distribution valve is closed.

9. The active brake cooling method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The current temperature of the brake is the average temperature of the four brakes; The air distribution valve controls the opening of the valve leading to the corresponding brake air pipeline according to the temperature of each brake. The higher the temperature, the greater the opening of the valve of the brake air pipeline. If the current temperature of the brake exceeds threshold value B, the car air conditioner is started to cool the main air pipe. If the current temperature of the brake exceeds threshold value C, the water pump is started. The threshold value A < threshold value B < threshold value C. After the car air conditioner is started to cool the main air pipe and / or the water pump is started, when the current temperature of the brake is lower than the safety threshold, the car air conditioner is turned off to cool the main air pipe and / or the water pump is turned off.

10. The active brake cooling method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: When the temperature difference between the car's brakes is greater than the set value, the air distribution valve opens the air line valve to the brake with the highest temperature until the temperature difference between the brakes is close; When the infrared sensor and the brake temperature calculation module calculate the temperature at the same time, the parameters estimated by the brake temperature calculation module are used as redundant data of the infrared sensor, and when the infrared sensor fails, the infrared sensor data is replaced, and when the infrared sensor is normal, the infrared sensor is calibrated by determining the difference between the estimated data and the collected data; When the active brake cooling system starts to cool the brakes, the large display shows the working status and parameters of the active brake cooling system.

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