Control method of liquid heater and liquid heater

Abstract

The invention discloses a control method of a liquid heater and the liquid heater. The control method comprises the steps that the heating requirement of a whole vehicle heat management controller is received; determining the output power of the liquid heater according to the heating requirement; and the corresponding number of IGBT switches are controlled to be started according to the output power, so that the cooling liquid is heated. In the application, the liquid heater outputs the fixed power corresponding to the heating requirement, so that the influence caused by current fluctuation is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of liquid heaters for new energy vehicles, and more specifically, to a control method for a liquid heater and a liquid heater. Background Art

[0002] Liquid heaters are important components in the thermal management system of new energy vehicles, used to achieve cab heating and battery heating functions. Water Positive Coefficient (WPTC) is one type of liquid heater. Specifically, the water heater uses different powers for heating according to the target temperature inside the cab and the target heating temperature of the battery.

[0003] In the prior art, the power regulation of the water heater is achieved through PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control, but this power regulation method will lead to unstable output power and large current fluctuations. The heating pack will have the risk of overcharging and over-discharging, which will affect the battery life and battery performance. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a control method for a liquid heater and a liquid heater, wherein the liquid heater outputs a fixed power corresponding to a heating requirement to avoid the influence of current fluctuations.

[0005] The present application provides a control method for a liquid heater, comprising:

[0006] Receive heating requirements from the vehicle thermal management controller;

[0007] Determine the output power of the liquid heater according to the heating demand;

[0008] The corresponding number of IGBT switches are started according to the output power control, thereby heating the coolant.

[0009] Preferably, the liquid heater comprises at least two IGBT switches and heating pack assemblies having the same number as the IGBT switches, and the number of heating packs in different heating pack assemblies corresponds to the output power of the corresponding IGBT switches.

[0010] Preferably, the liquid heater further comprises a base, a shell disposed in the base, and a cover plate disposed at an upper port of the shell;

[0011] A flow channel for the coolant is provided in the base, forming the water side of the liquid heater;

[0012] A high-voltage connector is provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and a busbar, a control panel, all heating package components and all IGBT switches are provided inside the shell;

[0013] All the heating packs in each heating pack assembly are connected through a busbar and then connected to a high-voltage connector and an IGBT switch in turn to form an IGBT loop; the IGBT switch is connected to the control board signal.

[0014] Preferably, a low-voltage connector is further provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and the low-voltage connector is respectively connected to the vehicle thermal management controller and the control board by signal.

[0015] The present application also provides a liquid heater, comprising at least two IGBT switches and heating pack assemblies having the same number as the IGBT switches, wherein the number of heating packs in different heating pack assemblies corresponds to the output power of the corresponding IGBT switches.

[0016] Preferably, the liquid heater further comprises a base, a shell disposed in the base, and a cover plate disposed at an upper port of the shell;

[0017] A flow channel for the coolant is provided in the base, forming the water side of the liquid heater;

[0018] A high-voltage connector is provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and a busbar, a control panel, all heating package components and all IGBT switches are provided inside the shell;

[0019] All the heating packs in each heating pack assembly are connected through a busbar and then connected to a high-voltage connector and an IGBT switch in turn to form an IGBT loop; the IGBT switch is connected to the control board signal.

[0020] Preferably, a low-voltage connector is further provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and the low-voltage connector is respectively connected to the vehicle thermal management controller and the control board by signal.

[0021] Preferably, the control board includes a receiving module, a power determination module and a control module;

[0022] The receiving module is used to receive the heating demand of the vehicle thermal management controller;

[0023] The power determination module is used to determine the output power of the liquid heater according to the heating demand;

[0024] The control module is used to control the start-up of a corresponding number of IGBT switches according to the output power, thereby heating the coolant.

[0025] Other features and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application.

[0027] Figure 1 A flow chart of a control method for a liquid heater provided in the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 An assembly diagram of a liquid heater provided for this application;

[0029] Figure 3 An exploded view of a liquid heater provided for this application;

[0030] Figure 4 Assembly diagram of the control unit of the liquid heater provided for this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Various exemplary embodiments of the present application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement of components and steps, numerical expressions and numerical values ​​set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present application.

[0032] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present application, its application, or uses.

[0033] Technologies, methods, and equipment known to ordinary technicians in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the technologies, methods, and equipment should be considered part of the specification.

[0034] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not limiting. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0035] The present application provides a control method for a liquid heater and a liquid heater, wherein the liquid heater outputs a fixed power corresponding to the heating demand to avoid the influence of current fluctuations. Furthermore, the liquid heater has the same number of IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) components and heating pack assemblies, each of which has a fixed output power, and the heating demand is met by starting one of the IGBT switches alone or starting at least two of the IGBT switches at the same time, providing multiple levels of heating power, thereby improving the application range of the liquid heater while ensuring current stability.

[0036] like Figure 1 As shown, the control method of the liquid heater provided by the present application includes:

[0037] S110: Receive heating requirements from the vehicle thermal management controller.

[0038] S120: Determine the output power of the liquid heater according to the heating demand.

[0039] S130: Control a corresponding number of IGBT switches to start according to the output power, so as to heat the coolant.

[0040] The liquid heater includes at least two IGBT switches and heating pack assemblies having the same number as the IGBT switches, and the number of heating packs in different heating pack assemblies corresponds to the output power of the corresponding IGBT switches. The more heating packs there are in the heating pack assembly, the greater the power of the heating pack assembly, and the greater the output power of the corresponding IGBT switch.

[0041] In the present application, the output power of the liquid heater determined in S120 is the output power of one of the IGBT switches or the sum of the output powers of at least two IGBT switches. That is, according to the required output power of the liquid heater, the heating demand is met directly through one of the heating pack components, or multiple heating pack components are combined so that the sum of their powers corresponds to the power corresponding to the heating demand, and heating is achieved through the corresponding IGBT switch, thereby meeting the heating demand.

[0042] As an example, Figure 2-4 As shown, the liquid heater of the present application further includes a base 100 , a shell 200 disposed in the base 100 , and a cover plate 300 disposed at an upper port of the shell 200 .

[0043] The base 100 is provided with a flow channel for the cooling liquid, forming the water side of the liquid heater. Figure 2 and 3 As shown, a coolant inlet 110 and a coolant outlet 120 are provided on the outer side wall of the base 100 .

[0044] The housing 200 is provided with a busbar, a control board, all heating pack components and all IGBT switches. The heating pack components are placed on the bottom surface of the housing. The busbar and the control board are arranged above the heating pack components in sequence. All IGBT switches are arranged at the edge of the control board. The busbar and the control board are both printed circuit boards (PCB). Figure 2-4 As shown, a high-voltage connector 210 and a low-voltage connector 220 are provided on the outer side wall of the housing 200 .

[0045] Each heating pack assembly is connected to the busbar, and all the heating packs in each heating pack assembly are connected to the high-voltage connector 210 and the IGBT switch in turn through the busbar to form an IGBT loop. The IGBT switch is connected to the control board signal. The control board is also provided with a high-voltage circuit to provide high-voltage power to the high-voltage connector 210. The cover plate 300 is fastened to the housing 200 to form the control side of the liquid heater, such as Figure 2-4 The lower part of the control side is located in the base 100, and the two are detachably connected. There is a gap between the inner side of the bottom surface of the base 100 and the outer side of the bottom surface of the housing 200 for the coolant to flow, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 shown.

[0046] The low-voltage connector 220 is connected to the vehicle thermal management controller signal to receive the heating demand of the vehicle thermal management controller.

[0047] Combination Figure 1-4 When the low-voltage connector 220 receives the heating demand from the vehicle thermal management controller, it transmits the signal to the control board. The control board determines the output power of the liquid heater based on the heating demand, and determines which IGBT switch needs to be started based on the output power, and then controls the corresponding IGBT switch to start. The IGBT switch controls the corresponding battery pack assembly to work through the high-voltage connector 210, thereby heating the coolant.

[0048] As an embodiment, there are two IGBT switches and heating pack assemblies. The first IGBT circuit includes two heating packs, and its output power is 1300W. The second IGBT circuit includes four heating packs, and its output power is 2700W. As shown in Table 1, this embodiment can provide four gears of output power: when both the first IGBT circuit and the second IGBT circuit are not started, the output power of the liquid heater is 0W, and the liquid heater is in gear 0; when the first IGBT circuit is started and the second IGBT circuit is not started, the output power of the liquid heater is 1300W, and the liquid heater is in gear 1; when the first IGBT circuit is not started and the second IGBT circuit is started, the output power of the liquid heater is 2700W, and the liquid heater is in gear 2; when both the first IGBT circuit and the second IGBT circuit are started, the output power of the liquid heater is 4000W, and the liquid heater is in gear 3.

[0049] Table 1 Description of the gear positions of the liquid heater

[0050] Based on the above, in this application, the control board includes a receiving module, a power determination module and a control module. The receiving module is used to receive the heating demand of the vehicle thermal management controller. The power determination module is used to determine the output power of the liquid heater according to the heating demand. The control module is used to control the corresponding number of IGBT switches to start according to the output power, so as to heat the coolant.

[0051] Although some specific embodiments of the present application have been described in detail by way of example, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above examples are only for illustration, not for limiting the scope of the present application. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments may be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. The scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a liquid heater, characterized in that: include: Receive heating requirements from the vehicle thermal management controller; determining the output power of the liquid heater according to the heating demand; A corresponding number of IGBT switches are controlled to start according to the output power, thereby heating the coolant.

2. The control method of the liquid heater according to claim 1, characterized in that: The liquid heater comprises at least two IGBT switches and heating pack assemblies having the same number as the IGBT switches, and the number of heating packs in different heating pack assemblies corresponds to the output power of the corresponding IGBT switches.

3. The control method of the liquid heater according to claim 2, characterized in that: The liquid heater also includes a base, a shell arranged in the base, and a cover plate arranged at an upper end portion of the shell; The base is provided with a circulation channel for the coolant, forming the water side of the liquid heater; A high-voltage connector is provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and a busbar, a control panel, all heating package components and all IGBT switches are provided inside the shell; All the heating packs in each heating pack assembly are connected through a busbar and then connected to a high-voltage connector and an IGBT switch in turn to form an IGBT loop; the IGBT switch is connected to the control board signal.

4. The control method of the liquid heater according to claim 3, characterized in that: A low-voltage connector is also provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and the low-voltage connector is respectively connected to the vehicle thermal management controller and the control board signal.

5. A liquid heater, characterized in that: It comprises at least two IGBT switches and heating pack assemblies having the same number as the IGBT switches, and the number of heating packs in different heating pack assemblies corresponds to the output power of the corresponding IGBT switches.

6. The liquid heater according to claim 5, characterized in that The liquid heater also includes a base, a shell arranged in the base, and a cover plate arranged at an upper end portion of the shell; The base is provided with a circulation channel for the coolant, forming the water side of the liquid heater; A high-voltage connector is provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and a busbar, a control panel, all heating package components and all IGBT switches are provided inside the shell; All the heating packs in each heating pack assembly are connected through a busbar and then connected to a high-voltage connector and an IGBT switch in turn to form an IGBT loop; the IGBT switch is connected to the control board signal.

7. The liquid heater according to claim 6, characterized in that A low-voltage connector is also provided on the outer side wall of the shell, and the low-voltage connector is respectively connected to the vehicle thermal management controller and the control board signal.

8. The liquid heater according to claim 7, characterized in that The control board includes a receiving module, a power determination module and a control module; The receiving module is used to receive the heating demand of the vehicle thermal management controller; The power determination module is used to determine the output power of the liquid heater according to the heating demand; The control module is used to control a corresponding number of IGBT switches to start according to the output power, thereby heating the coolant.

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