Thermal management system of vehicle, control method and vehicle

Abstract

The invention provides a vehicle thermal management system, a control method and a vehicle, and is applied to the field of vehicle thermal management. The system comprises a battery liquid cooling loop and a battery direct cooling loop, the battery liquid cooling loop comprises a double-medium cold plate, a cooling liquid branch, and a motor water pump and a radiator in the motor liquid cooling system; the double-medium cold plate is arranged at a battery module of the vehicle and comprises a refrigerant flow channel and a cooling liquid flow channel; the first end of the cooling liquid branch is connected with the first end of the radiator and the first end of the cooling liquid flow channel, the second end of the cooling liquid branch is connected with the first end of the motor water pump, and the second end of the motor water pump is connected with the second end of the radiator and the second end of the cooling liquid flow channel. The battery direct cooling loop comprises a refrigerant flow channel and a refrigerant system; and the refrigerant flow channel is communicated with a refrigerant system. The battery direct cooling loop and the battery liquid cooling loop can be used for cooling the battery module at the same time, it can be guaranteed that the battery module is rapidly and evenly cooled, and the service life of the battery module can be prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of vehicle thermal management technology, and in particular to a vehicle thermal management system, a control method and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] The vehicle's thermal management system is a critical system in the vehicle that ensures the vehicle remains within the optimum or optimal temperature range under various operating conditions. The vehicle's thermal management system maintains the operating temperature of the engine, battery modules, motors and other key components, which helps ensure that these components operate efficiently and extend their service life while ensuring the comfort of the passenger compartment.

[0003] In the related art, when thermal management is performed on a vehicle's battery module, the refrigerant in the vehicle's air conditioner is usually used to cool the battery module. However, the inventors have found that although this method has a high cooling efficiency, it can easily lead to a large temperature difference between the battery cells in the battery module, and it is impossible to take into account both the high cooling efficiency of the battery module and the temperature uniformity of the battery module. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a vehicle thermal management system, a control method and a vehicle to solve the problem in the related art that when cooling the battery module of the vehicle, both the high cooling efficiency and the temperature uniformity of the battery module cannot be taken into account.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a thermal management system for a vehicle, which may include a battery liquid cooling circuit and a battery direct cooling circuit;

[0006] The battery liquid cooling circuit includes a dual-medium cold plate, a coolant branch, and a motor water pump and a radiator in the motor liquid cooling system; the dual-medium cold plate is arranged at the battery module of the vehicle, and includes a refrigerant flow channel and a coolant flow channel;

[0007] The first end of the coolant branch is connected to the first end of the radiator and the first end of the coolant flow channel respectively, the second end of the coolant branch is connected to the first end of the motor water pump, and the second end of the motor water pump is connected to the second end of the radiator and the second end of the coolant flow channel respectively;

[0008] When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump passes through the coolant branch, one path is cooled by the radiator, and then returns to the motor water pump, and the other path flows into the coolant flow channel, cools the battery module, and then returns to the motor water pump;

[0009] The battery direct cooling circuit includes a refrigerant flow channel and a refrigerant system; the refrigerant flow channel is connected to the refrigerant system.

[0010] The thermal management system of the vehicle provided in the embodiment of the present application uses a dual-medium cold plate disposed at the battery module of the vehicle, so that both refrigerant and coolant can flow through the battery module. The battery module can be cooled by either a battery direct cooling circuit or a battery liquid cooling circuit. The battery module can also be cooled by both a battery direct cooling circuit and a battery liquid cooling circuit. The battery direct cooling circuit uses a refrigerant to cool the battery module. The refrigerant uses the principle of phase change heat exchange and has a high cooling efficiency. The battery liquid cooling circuit uses a coolant to cool the battery module. The coolant uses the principle of temperature difference heat exchange, and the coolant has a large specific heat capacity and good temperature uniformity. When the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery liquid cooling circuit cool the battery module at the same time, it can ensure that the battery module is cooled quickly and evenly, which can extend the service life of the battery module. At the same time, when the battery liquid cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump passes through the coolant branch, one path directly reaches the radiator for cooling, and the other path directly flows into the coolant flow channel to cool the battery module without passing through the motor in the middle, thereby reducing cold loss, improving the battery liquid cooling efficiency, and ensuring rapid thermal management of the battery module. In addition, when the battery module has thermal runaway, the battery direct cooling circuit cannot work, so the battery liquid cooling circuit can be used to cool the battery module to avoid performance degradation or failure of the battery module.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0012] The battery temperature equalization circuit includes a motor water pump, a coolant branch and a coolant flow channel;

[0013] When the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump passes through the coolant branch and the coolant flow channel in sequence and then returns to the motor water pump to equalize the temperature of the battery module.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present application, the vehicle's thermal management system is provided with a separate battery temperature equalization circuit, which can be used to equalize the temperature of the battery module and quickly cool it down, thereby reducing the temperature difference between the individual battery cells in the battery module and lowering the temperature of the battery module, thereby avoiding the battery module temperature being too high or the temperature difference being too large, which affects the performance and life of the battery module.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a first battery liquid thermal circuit; the motor liquid cooling system further includes a motor subsystem;

[0016] The first battery liquid heat circuit includes a motor water pump, a motor subsystem and a coolant flow channel; the motor subsystem is connected in parallel with the coolant branch;

[0017] When the first battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump is heated by the motor subsystem, flows into the coolant flow channel, heats the battery module, and then returns to the motor water pump.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present application, the thermal management system of the vehicle is provided with a first battery liquid thermal circuit. When the temperature of the battery module is low, the battery module can be heated by the first battery liquid thermal circuit to prevent the battery module temperature from being too low. The first battery liquid thermal circuit heats the battery module by waste heat or active heat generation of the motor subsystem. Compared with the method of heating the battery module by a heating film in the related art, the weight and cost of the vehicle can be reduced. At the same time, the first battery liquid thermal circuit only connects the motor subsystem and the coolant flow channel without passing through other possible heat absorption equipment, which can reduce heat loss and improve the heating efficiency of the battery module.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the battery liquid cooling circuit and the first battery liquid heating circuit both further include a first three-way valve;

[0020] The first end of the first three-way valve is connected to the first end of the motor water pump, the second end of the first three-way valve is connected to the motor subsystem, and the third end of the first three-way valve is connected to the second end of the coolant branch;

[0021] When the first battery liquid heat circuit is in operation, the first end of the first three-way valve is connected to the second end of the first three-way valve;

[0022] When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the first end of the first three-way valve is communicated with the third end of the first three-way valve.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the battery liquid cooling circuit and the first battery liquid heating circuit both further include a second three-way valve;

[0024] The first end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the radiator, the second end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the motor water pump, and the third end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the coolant flow channel;

[0025] When the first battery liquid heat circuit is in operation, the second end of the second three-way valve is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve;

[0026] When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the first end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the second three-way valve, and the second end of the second three-way valve is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve.

[0027] The embodiment of the present application adds a first three-way valve and a second three-way valve, so that the working state of each circuit can be conveniently controlled by controlling the state of the first three-way valve and the second three-way valve.

[0028] In a possible implementation, a PTC heater is provided on the coolant branch;

[0029] The thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a second battery liquid thermal circuit; the second battery liquid thermal circuit includes a motor water pump, a coolant branch and a coolant flow channel;

[0030] When the second battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump is heated by the PTC heater of the coolant branch, flows into the coolant flow channel, heats the battery module and then returns to the motor water pump.

[0031] In an embodiment of the present application, the thermal management system of the vehicle is provided with a second battery liquid thermal circuit. When the battery temperature is low, the battery module can be heated by the second battery liquid thermal circuit to prevent the battery module temperature from being too low. In addition, when the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit is not working and the battery module needs to be heated, the second battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate, which can avoid affecting the motor life and energy efficiency, and the efficiency of heating the battery module is higher.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the refrigerant system includes an evaporator, a compressor, and a condenser;

[0033] The first end of the refrigerant flow channel and the first end of the evaporator are both connected to the first end of the condenser, the second end of the refrigerant flow channel and the second end of the evaporator are both connected to the first end of the compressor, and the second end of the compressor is connected to the second end of the condenser;

[0034] When the battery direct cooling circuit is working, the refrigerant flowing out of the compressor flows through the condenser, enters the refrigerant flow channel, cools the battery module, and then returns to the compressor.

[0035] The embodiment of the present application can quickly cool down the battery module through the battery direct cooling circuit, with high cooling efficiency, and can be suitable for working conditions with high battery temperature. In addition, the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery temperature equalization circuit can be controlled to work simultaneously, so as to quickly cool down the battery module while avoiding excessive temperature difference of the battery module.

[0036] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a control method for a thermal management system of a vehicle, which is applied to the thermal management system of the vehicle in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The control method may include:

[0037] Obtain the maximum cell temperature of the battery module and the coolant temperature of the motor liquid cooling system;

[0038] When the highest battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, if the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the target temperature, the battery liquid cooling circuit is controlled to operate; the target temperature is the difference between the second preset temperature and the first temperature difference; the first temperature difference is the difference between the highest battery cell temperature and the first preset temperature; the second preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature;

[0039] When the highest battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, if the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature, the battery direct cooling circuit is controlled to operate.

[0040] In the embodiment of the present application, when the maximum cell temperature of the battery module is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, that is, when the maximum cell temperature of the battery module is higher than the upper limit of its normal operating temperature range, the temperature of the battery module can be reduced by controlling the battery liquid cooling circuit or the battery direct cooling circuit to operate; in addition, since the temperature difference of the battery module may become larger when the battery direct cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module, and on the premise that the battery liquid cooling circuit can achieve the purpose of cooling the battery module, the battery liquid cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module with lower energy consumption. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, when the battery module has a cooling demand and the coolant temperature can meet the conditions for cooling the battery module, the battery liquid cooling circuit is preferentially used to cool the battery module, which can reduce the temperature difference between the cells in the battery module and reduce energy consumption; when the battery module has a cooling demand but the coolant temperature cannot meet the conditions, the battery direct cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module, which can improve the cooling efficiency.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0042] The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle also includes:

[0043] When thermal runaway of the battery module is detected, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate and the battery direct cooling circuit is prohibited from operating.

[0044] In an embodiment of the present application, if thermal runaway occurs in the battery module, if the battery direct cooling circuit is working, the thermal runaway of the battery module may become more serious and the risk of electrical failure may be increased. Therefore, when the battery module is thermally runaway, the battery direct cooling circuit is prohibited from working, and the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to work, so that the battery module can be cooled down quickly and the temperature difference can be reduced.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0046] The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle also includes:

[0047] When the battery direct cooling circuit is working, obtain the lowest cell temperature of the battery module;

[0048] Calculating a second temperature difference between the highest battery cell temperature and the lowest battery cell temperature, and a third temperature difference between the lowest battery cell temperature and the coolant temperature;

[0049] If the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, and the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present application, since the battery direct cooling circuit may cause a large temperature difference in the battery module when it is working, it is necessary to detect whether the temperature difference of the battery module is too large when the battery direct cooling circuit is working. In addition, the battery direct cooling circuit is working, which means that the battery module needs to be cooled down. Therefore, it is also necessary to detect whether the coolant temperature can meet the conditions for cooling the battery module. If the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, it means that the temperature difference of the battery module is too large. If the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, it means that the coolant temperature can meet the conditions for cooling the battery module. Then, the battery temperature equalization circuit can be controlled to work, so as to reduce the temperature difference of the battery module while cooling the battery module.

[0051] In one possible implementation, a thermal management system for a vehicle includes a first battery fluid thermal circuit;

[0052] The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle also includes:

[0053] Get the minimum cell temperature of the battery module;

[0054] When the battery module is in a discharging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a third preset temperature, a third temperature difference between the coolant temperature and the lowest battery cell temperature is calculated; the third preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature;

[0055] If the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the third preset temperature difference, and the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate; and the fourth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present application, when the battery module is in a discharging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to the third preset temperature, it means that the battery module is in a discharging and low-temperature state. At this time, if the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the third preset temperature difference, it means that the coolant temperature at this time can meet the conditions for heating the battery module. At the same time, the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, which means that the coolant temperature will not be too high at this time to avoid damage to the battery module. The first battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate, and the waste heat of the motor subsystem can be used to heat the battery module, so as to realize waste heat recovery of the motor subsystem and avoid energy waste.

[0057] In a possible implementation, after obtaining the lowest battery cell temperature of the battery module, the method further includes:

[0058] When the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate, and the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to be blocked; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is lower than the first preset temperature.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present application, when the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to the fifth preset temperature, it indicates that the battery module is in a charging and low-temperature state. At this time, the first battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate. Since the motor is not working when the battery module is in a charging state, the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to be blocked so that the motor actively generates heat. Thus, the coolant in the first battery liquid thermal circuit can absorb the heat generated by the motor, heat the battery module, and make the temperature of the battery module within a temperature range suitable for charging, thereby improving the charging efficiency.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a second battery liquid thermal circuit;

[0061] After obtaining the minimum cell temperature of the battery module, it also includes:

[0062] When the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature, the second battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature.

[0063] In the embodiment of the present application, in the embodiment of the present application, when the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to the fifth preset temperature, it means that the battery module is in a charging and low temperature state. At this time, the second battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate, and the coolant is heated by the PTC heater in the second battery liquid thermal circuit to heat the battery module. Compared with the method of heating the battery module by motor stalling, heating the battery module by using the second battery liquid thermal circuit is more efficient.

[0064] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a control device for a thermal management system of a vehicle, which is applied to the thermal management system of the vehicle in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the control device may include:

[0065] An acquisition module is used to obtain the maximum cell temperature of the battery module and the coolant temperature of the motor liquid cooling system;

[0066] A first control module is used to control the battery liquid cooling circuit to operate when the maximum battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature and the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the target temperature; the target temperature is the difference between the second preset temperature and the first temperature difference; the first temperature difference is the difference between the maximum battery cell temperature and the first preset temperature; the second preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature;

[0067] The second control module is used to control the battery direct cooling circuit to operate when the maximum battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature and the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature.

[0068] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be executed on the processor, and when the processor executes the computer program, it implements the control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation method of the second aspect.

[0069] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a vehicle, comprising a thermal management system of the vehicle as in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0070] In a possible implementation, the vehicle may further include the electronic device as described in the fourth aspect; the thermal management system of the vehicle is controlled by the electronic device.

[0071] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation method of the second aspect is implemented.

[0072] It can be understood that the beneficial effects of the third to sixth aspects mentioned above can be found in the relevant descriptions in the first and / or second aspects mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0073] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present specification. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0075] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a thermal management system for a vehicle provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0076] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a thermal management system for a vehicle provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a thermal management system for a vehicle provided in yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a thermal management system of a vehicle provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device for a thermal management system of a vehicle provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0080] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] The present application is described more clearly below in conjunction with specific embodiments. The following embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the effects of the present application, but are not intended to limit the present application in any form. It should be noted that, for those of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements may be made without departing from the concept of the present application. These all fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0082] It should be understood that when used in the present specification and the appended claims, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of described features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0083] It should also be understood that the term “and / or” used in the specification and appended claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0084] In the description of the present application specification and the appended claims, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used to distinguish the descriptions and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0085] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" etc. described in the specification of this application mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0086] In addition, the “plurality” mentioned in the embodiments of the present application should be interpreted as two or more.

[0087] The vehicle's thermal management system can adjust the temperature of the vehicle's battery module so that the battery module can operate efficiently and extend its service life. In the related art, only the refrigerant in the vehicle's air conditioner is used to perform thermal management on the vehicle's battery module. The refrigerant can usually only cool the battery module, and the principle of thermal management by the refrigerant is phase change heat transfer. The refrigerant will undergo a phase change when absorbing heat, from liquid to gas. Although the cooling efficiency is high, the cooling capacity of the refrigerant will change significantly in this process. For example, when the refrigerant cools the battery module, it may be in a liquid state at the beginning, and become a gas after absorbing heat, which may cause the cooling effect of the refrigerant at different positions of the battery module to be inconsistent, which may easily cause a large temperature difference between the battery cells in the battery module, which is easy to affect the performance and life of the battery module. Among them, the battery module refers to the power battery module of the vehicle, which may include multiple battery cells.

[0088] In order to solve the above problems, in the related art, liquid cooling is used to cool the battery module. The principle of liquid cooling is temperature difference heat exchange, and the specific heat capacity of the coolant is large. When the battery module is liquid-cooled, it usually does not cause a large temperature difference in the battery module. However, the inventor of the present application found that in the related art, when the battery module is liquid-cooled, it needs to pass through the motor first, and the heat of the motor will be transferred to the passing coolant, which increases the temperature of the coolant and produces a certain amount of cold loss, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of liquid cooling of the battery module.

[0089] Therefore, whether the battery module is cooled by direct cooling or liquid cooling, both the high cooling efficiency of the battery module and the temperature uniformity of the battery module cannot be taken into account, that is, the battery module cannot be cooled quickly and evenly.

[0090] In order to solve the above problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a thermal management system for a vehicle. By setting a dual-medium cold plate at the battery module of the vehicle, both refrigerant and coolant can flow through the battery module. The battery module can be cooled by a battery direct cooling circuit or a battery liquid cooling circuit. The battery module can also be cooled by a battery direct cooling circuit and a battery liquid cooling circuit at the same time to ensure that the battery module is cooled quickly and evenly, which can extend the service life of the battery module. When the battery liquid cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump passes through the coolant branch, and one path directly reaches the radiator for cooling, and the other path directly flows into the coolant flow channel to cool the battery module without passing through the motor in the middle, thereby reducing cold loss, improving the battery liquid cooling efficiency, and ensuring rapid thermal management of the battery module.

[0091] Reference below Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the thermal management system of the vehicle provided, combined with Figure 2 and Figure 3 The thermal management system of a vehicle provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application is described below. Figures 1 to 3 This is only shown to facilitate understanding of the spirit and principle of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

[0092] See also Figure 1 , an embodiment of the present application provides a thermal management system for a vehicle, which may include a battery liquid cooling circuit and a battery direct cooling circuit;

[0093] The battery liquid cooling circuit includes a dual-medium cold plate 2, a coolant branch 4, and a motor water pump 3 and a radiator 5 in the motor liquid cooling system; the dual-medium cold plate 2 is arranged at the battery module 1 of the vehicle, and includes a refrigerant flow channel and a coolant flow channel;

[0094] The first end of the coolant branch 4 is connected to the first end of the radiator 5 and the first end of the coolant flow channel respectively, the second end of the coolant branch 4 is connected to the first end of the motor water pump 3, and the second end of the motor water pump 3 is connected to the second end of the radiator 5 and the second end of the coolant flow channel respectively;

[0095] When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 passes through the coolant branch 4, one path is cooled by the radiator 5, and then returns to the motor water pump 3, and the other path flows into the coolant flow channel, cools the battery module 1, and then returns to the motor water pump 3;

[0096] The battery direct cooling circuit includes a refrigerant flow channel and a refrigerant system; the refrigerant flow channel is connected to the refrigerant system.

[0097] The dual-medium cold plate 2 includes a refrigerant flow channel and a coolant flow channel, wherein the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant flow channel and the coolant flows through the coolant flow channel. The refrigerant may be a refrigerant, such as R134a or R1234yf, etc. The coolant may be water, a mixture of ethylene glycol or a mixture of propylene glycol, etc.

[0098] In the dual-medium cold plate 2, the refrigerant flow channel and the coolant flow channel can be arranged alternately, and the refrigerant flow channel and the coolant flow channel can both be labyrinth flow channels, multiple U-shaped flow channels connected in sequence, wavy flow channels or S-shaped curved flow channels, etc.

[0099] The dual-medium cold plate 2 may be disposed at the battery module 1 of the vehicle, and the battery module 1 may be thermally managed by the refrigerant and / or coolant flowing therethrough.

[0100] In the battery liquid cooling circuit, the second end of the coolant branch 4 can be selectively connected to the first end of the motor water pump 3, and the second end of the motor water pump 3 can be selectively connected to the second end of the radiator 5 and the second end of the coolant flow channel. When the second end of the coolant branch 4 is connected to the first end of the motor water pump 3, and the second end of the motor water pump 3 is connected to the second end of the radiator 5 and the second end of the coolant flow channel, the battery liquid cooling circuit is circulated, and the battery liquid cooling circuit works, which can cool down the battery module 1. Among them, whether the above-mentioned various devices are connected can be achieved through corresponding control, which will not be repeated here.

[0101] When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the coolant can circulate in it. The motor water pump 3 can be used to promote the circulation of the coolant in the circuit and can adjust the flow rate of the coolant. The coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 is divided into two paths after passing through the coolant branch 4: one path of the coolant is cooled by the radiator 5 and returns to the motor water pump 3, wherein the coolant can exchange heat with the external air when flowing through the radiator 5 to dissipate the heat; the other path of the coolant flows into the coolant flow channel, cools the battery module 1, and then returns to the motor water pump 3, wherein the coolant can exchange heat with the battery module 1 in the coolant flow channel, absorb the heat of the battery module 1, and reduce the temperature of the battery module 1. The temperature of the coolant passing through the coolant flow channel will increase, but after merging with the coolant passing through the radiator 5, the temperature will decrease. Among them, the radiator 5 can be a low-temperature radiator.

[0102] In the embodiment of the present application, the coolant branch 4 is a pipe through which the coolant flows, and the coolant branch 4 does not flow through any device.

[0103] See also Figure 1 The motor liquid cooling system may include the motor water pump 3, the radiator 5 and the motor subsystem. The motor liquid cooling system may also be called a motor liquid cooling circuit, in which the motor water pump 3, the motor subsystem and the radiator 5 are connected in series to form a circuit. The motor subsystem may include an OBC three-in-one 6 and a motor 7 connected in series. The OBC three-in-one 6 may include an OBC (On-Board Charger), a PDU (Power Distribution Unit) and a DC-DC (Direct Current-Direct Current) converter. See Figure 1 A first temperature sensor 8 may be provided at the inlet of the motor 7 to collect the inlet temperature of the motor 7 .

[0104] The battery liquid cooling circuit provided in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the above-mentioned radiator 5 and does not pass through the above-mentioned motor subsystem. Therefore, it will not exchange heat with the motor subsystem, which can reduce cold loss.

[0105] In some possible implementations, see Figure 1The motor liquid cooling system further includes a first overflow tank 9 connected between the radiator 5 and the motor water pump 3. Correspondingly, the battery liquid cooling circuit further includes the first overflow tank 9, and the second end of the radiator 5 is connected to the second end of the motor water pump 3 through the first overflow tank 9.

[0106] In the battery direct cooling circuit, the refrigerant flow channel can be selectively connected to the refrigerant system. When the refrigerant flow channel is connected to the refrigerant system, the battery direct cooling circuit flows, the battery direct cooling circuit works, and the battery module 1 can be cooled. Whether the refrigerant flow channel is connected to the refrigerant system can be achieved through corresponding control, which will not be repeated here.

[0107] When the battery direct cooling circuit is in operation, the refrigerant can flow therein. When the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant flow channel, the refrigerant can cool the battery module 1 .

[0108] In an embodiment of the present application, the battery module 1 can be cooled by a battery direct cooling circuit and / or a battery liquid cooling circuit. Under different working conditions, it can be determined which method to use to cool the battery module 1. For example, although the cooling efficiency of the battery direct cooling circuit is high, the battery direct cooling circuit is likely to cause a large temperature difference in the battery module 1. Therefore, under the working condition that the battery liquid cooling circuit can cool the battery module 1, the battery liquid cooling circuit is preferably used to cool the battery module 1. Under the working condition that the battery liquid cooling circuit cannot cool the battery module 1, the battery direct cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module 1, or the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery liquid cooling circuit are used together to cool the battery module 1. For example, when the battery module 1 is in a high temperature environment, the battery liquid cooling circuit may not be able to lower the temperature of the battery module 1 or cannot quickly lower the temperature. At this time, the battery direct cooling circuit can be used, that is, the refrigerant system can work, and the heat is exchanged with the external environment through the condenser 10 to achieve cooling of the battery module 1. Alternatively, the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery liquid cooling circuit can work together to achieve rapid and uniform cooling of the battery module 1; when the power battery is in a low temperature and normal temperature environment, if cooling is required, the battery liquid cooling circuit can be used for cooling, and heat is exchanged with the external environment through the radiator 5; when the temperature difference of the battery module 1 is large, if the battery direct cooling circuit is used for cooling, the temperature difference will be larger. Therefore, the battery liquid cooling circuit can be used for cooling; and so on.

[0109] Among them, the battery liquid cooling circuit can also be directly used to cool the battery module 1 under the working condition that the battery direct cooling circuit cannot work. For example, when the battery module 1 has thermal runaway, the battery direct cooling circuit is not allowed to work. At this time, the battery liquid cooling circuit can be allowed to work to cool the battery module 1 to avoid performance degradation or failure of the battery module 1.

[0110] It should be noted that the above-mentioned working conditions are only examples. In actual applications, there may be more working conditions, and the battery direct cooling circuit or the battery liquid cooling circuit can be selected according to actual needs.

[0111] The thermal management system of the vehicle provided in the embodiment of the present application is provided with a dual-medium cold plate 2 at the battery module 1 of the vehicle, so that both refrigerant and coolant can flow through the battery module 1. The battery direct cooling circuit can be used to cool the battery module 1, or the battery liquid cooling circuit can be used to cool the battery module 1. The battery direct cooling circuit uses refrigerant to cool the battery module 1. The refrigerant uses the principle of phase change heat exchange and has a high cooling efficiency. The battery liquid cooling circuit uses coolant to cool the battery module 1. The coolant uses the principle of temperature difference heat exchange, and the specific heat capacity of the coolant is large and the temperature uniformity is good. When the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery liquid cooling circuit cool the battery module 1 at the same time, it can ensure that the battery module is cooled quickly and evenly, and the service life of the battery module can be extended. At the same time, when the battery liquid cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module 1, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 passes through the coolant branch 4, directly reaches the radiator 5 for cooling, and directly flows into the coolant flow channel to cool the battery module 1 without passing through the motor 7 in the middle, thereby reducing the cold loss, improving the battery liquid cooling efficiency, and ensuring the rapid thermal management of the battery module. By cooling the battery module 1 through the battery liquid cooling circuit, the temperature difference of the battery module 1 can be reduced, and the performance and life of the battery module 1 can be improved. In addition, when the battery module 1 has thermal runaway, the battery direct cooling circuit cannot work. Therefore, the battery module 1 can be cooled through the battery liquid cooling circuit to avoid the performance degradation or failure of the battery module 1.

[0112] In the above description, it is mentioned that there may be a large temperature difference between the battery cells in the battery module 1. In order to further reduce the temperature difference between the battery cells, the vehicle's thermal management system may also include a battery temperature equalization circuit for quickly reducing the temperature difference between the battery cells and quickly cooling them.

[0113] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 ,The vehicle’s thermal management system also includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0114] The battery temperature equalization circuit includes a motor water pump 3, a coolant branch 4 and a coolant flow channel;

[0115] When the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 passes through the coolant branch 4 and the coolant flow channel in sequence and then returns to the motor water pump 3 to equalize the temperature of the battery module 1.

[0116] See also Figure 1In the battery temperature equalization circuit, the motor water pump 3, the coolant branch 4 and the coolant flow channel are connected in series to form a circuit. The motor water pump 3 and the coolant branch 4, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel can be selectively connected. When the motor water pump 3 and the coolant branch 4, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel are connected, the battery temperature equalization circuit is connected, and the battery temperature equalization circuit works to quickly equalize the temperature and / or quickly cool down the battery module 1. Among them, whether the above-mentioned motor water pump 3 and the coolant branch 4, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel are connected can be achieved through corresponding control, which will not be repeated here.

[0117] When the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, the motor water pump 3 can adjust the flow rate of the coolant to speed up the flow rate of the coolant. When the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, only the motor water pump 3 is working in the entire circuit, and the coolant will only exchange heat with the battery module 1 without other heat exchanges. Therefore, the temperature difference between the battery modules 1 can be quickly reduced to balance the temperature of the battery modules 1, and when the coolant temperature is lower than the temperature of the battery module 1, the battery module 1 can also be quickly cooled down.

[0118] When thermal runaway occurs in the battery module 1 or when the temperature difference between the cells of the battery module 1 is large, the battery temperature equalization circuit can be controlled to operate to cool or equalize the temperature of the battery module 1.

[0119] In an embodiment of the present application, the vehicle's thermal management system is provided with a separate battery temperature equalization circuit, through which the battery module 1 can be evenly heated and quickly cooled, thereby reducing the temperature difference between the individual battery cells in the battery module 1 and lowering the temperature of the battery module 1, thereby preventing the battery module 1 from being too hot or the temperature difference from being too large, thereby affecting the performance and life of the battery module 1.

[0120] In addition to the requirements of cooling and temperature equalization, the battery module 1 may also need to be heated. For example, when the ambient temperature is low, the battery module 1 is charged. If the temperature of the battery module 1 is low, the charging efficiency is low. Therefore, the battery module 1 needs to be heated. However, in the related art, only the refrigerant in the vehicle's air conditioner is used to perform thermal management on the vehicle's battery module 1. The refrigerant can usually only cool the battery module 1, and the heating effect on the battery module 1 is not ideal. Therefore, a heating film needs to be installed. When the battery module 1 needs to be heated, the battery module 1 is heated by the heating film. However, this heating method will undoubtedly increase the weight and cost of the vehicle. In order to solve this problem, the thermal management system of the vehicle provided in the embodiment of the present application may also include a first battery liquid thermal circuit to achieve liquid thermal heating of the battery module 1.

[0121] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a first battery liquid thermal circuit; the motor liquid cooling system further includes a motor subsystem;

[0122] The first battery liquid heat circuit includes a motor water pump 3, a motor subsystem and a coolant flow channel; the motor subsystem is connected in parallel with the coolant branch 4;

[0123] When the first battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 is heated by the motor subsystem, flows into the coolant flow channel, heats the battery module 1, and then returns to the motor water pump 3.

[0124] See also Figure 1 In the first battery liquid heat circuit, the motor water pump 3, the motor subsystem and the coolant flow channel are connected in series to form a loop. The first end of the motor subsystem is connected to the first end of the coolant flow channel, and the second end of the motor subsystem is connected to the first end of the motor water pump 3.

[0125] The motor water pump 3 and the motor subsystem, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel can be selectively connected. When the motor water pump 3 and the motor subsystem, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel are connected, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is connected, and the first battery liquid thermal circuit works to heat and increase the temperature of the battery module 1. Among them, whether the motor water pump 3 and the motor subsystem, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel are connected can be achieved through corresponding control, which will not be repeated here.

[0126] When the battery module 1 needs to be heated, for example, when the battery module 1 is in an extremely low temperature environment, it needs to be heated. At this time, the first battery liquid heat circuit can be controlled to work. If the motor 7 in the first battery liquid heat circuit is in working state, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 can absorb the waste heat (residual heat) generated by the motor 7 when it is working, recover the residual heat, and then pass through the coolant flow channel to heat the battery module 1. If the motor 7 in the first battery liquid heat circuit is not in working state, the motor 7 can be controlled to actively block and generate heat, so that the coolant can absorb the heat, thereby heating the battery module 1.

[0127] When the first battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 only flows through the motor subsystem to absorb heat, and then enters the coolant flow channel to heat the battery module 1. It will not pass through other heat absorbing equipment in the middle, which can reduce heat loss and improve heating efficiency.

[0128] In an embodiment of the present application, the thermal management system of the vehicle is provided with a first battery liquid thermal circuit. When the battery temperature is low, the battery module 1 can be heated by the first battery liquid thermal circuit to prevent the battery module 1 from being too low in temperature. The first battery liquid thermal circuit heats the battery module 1 by waste heat from the motor subsystem or active heat generation. Compared with the method of using a heating film in the related art, the weight and cost of the vehicle can be reduced. At the same time, the first battery liquid thermal circuit only connects the motor subsystem and the coolant flow channel without passing through other possible heat absorption devices, which can reduce heat loss and improve the heating efficiency of the battery module 1.

[0129] The above embodiments introduce multiple circuits in the thermal management system of the vehicle. However, how to control whether each circuit is working needs to be achieved through valves, which is described in detail below.

[0130] In some embodiments, the battery liquid cooling circuit and the first battery liquid heating circuit both further include a first three-way valve 14;

[0131] A first end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to a first end of the motor water pump 3, a second end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to the motor subsystem, and a third end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to a second end of the coolant branch 4;

[0132] When the first battery liquid heat circuit is working, the first end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to the second end of the first three-way valve 14;

[0133] When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the first end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to the third end of the first three-way valve 14 .

[0134] The second end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to the second end of the motor subsystem.

[0135] The battery temperature equalization circuit also includes the above-mentioned first three-way valve 14. When the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, the first end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to the third end of the first three-way valve 14.

[0136] In some embodiments, the battery liquid cooling circuit and the first battery liquid heating circuit both further include a second three-way valve 13;

[0137] A first end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to a second end of the radiator 5, a second end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to a second end of the motor water pump 3, and a third end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to a second end of the coolant flow channel;

[0138] When the first battery liquid heat circuit is working, the second end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve 13;

[0139] When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the first end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to the second end of the second three-way valve 13, and the second end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve 13, that is, the coolant flowing into the first end of the second three-way valve 13 and the third end of the second three-way valve 13 converges to the second end of the second three-way valve 13 and then flows out to the motor water pump 3.

[0140] The battery temperature equalization circuit also includes the second three-way valve 13. When the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, the second end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve 13.

[0141] The embodiment of the present application adds a first three-way valve 14 and a second three-way valve 13 , so that the working state of each circuit can be conveniently controlled by controlling the state of the first three-way valve 14 and the second three-way valve 13 .

[0142] The above-mentioned embodiment introduces that the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a first battery liquid thermal circuit, but the first battery liquid thermal circuit requires the motor 7 to be in a working state in order to absorb the residual heat of the motor 7 and heat the battery module 1. If the motor 7 is not in a working state, it is also necessary to control the motor 7 to actively block in order to heat the battery module 1, which may reduce energy efficiency and may also cause the motor 7 to have overheating risks and mechanical wear, affecting the life of the motor 7. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application also provides a second battery liquid thermal circuit, which can heat the battery module 1 when the motor 7 is not in a working state and the battery module 1 needs to be heated.

[0143] In some embodiments, see Figure 2 A PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient, positive temperature coefficient / positive temperature coefficient thermistor) heater 17 is provided on the coolant branch 4;

[0144] The thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a second battery liquid thermal circuit; the second battery liquid thermal circuit includes a motor water pump 3, a coolant branch 4 and a coolant flow channel;

[0145] When the second battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 is heated by the PTC heater 17 of the coolant branch 4, flows into the coolant flow channel, heats the battery module 1, and then returns to the motor water pump 3.

[0146] See also Figure 2 In the second battery liquid heat circuit, the motor water pump 3, the coolant branch 4 and the coolant flow channel are connected in series to form a loop.

[0147] The motor water pump 3 and the coolant branch 4, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel can be selectively connected. When the motor water pump 3 and the coolant branch 4, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel are connected, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is connected. At this time, the PTC heater 17 is controlled to work, and the first battery liquid thermal circuit works to heat and increase the temperature of the battery module 1. Among them, whether the motor water pump 3 and the coolant branch 4, as well as the motor water pump 3 and the coolant flow channel are connected can be achieved through corresponding control, which will not be repeated here.

[0148] When the battery module 1 needs to be heated, for example, when the battery module 1 is in an extremely low temperature environment, it needs to be heated. At this time, if the motor 7 in the first battery liquid heat circuit is not working, in order to avoid affecting the energy efficiency and the life of the motor 7, the second battery liquid heat circuit can be controlled to work. The efficiency of heating the battery module 1 through the second battery liquid heat circuit is higher than that of heating the battery module 1 through the first battery liquid heat circuit by using the motor 7 to block the rotor.

[0149] When the second battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump 3 only flows through the PTC heater 17 for heating, and then enters the coolant flow channel to heat the battery module 1. It will not pass through other heat absorbing equipment in the middle, which can reduce heat loss and improve heating efficiency.

[0150] In some possible implementations, see Figure 2 The second battery liquid thermal circuit may further include the first three-way valve 14 and the second three-way valve 13 mentioned above.

[0151] When the second battery liquid thermal circuit is in operation, the first end of the first three-way valve 14 is connected to the third end of the first three-way valve 14 , and the second end of the second three-way valve 13 is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve 13 .

[0152] exist Figure 2 In the illustrated architecture, the battery temperature equalization circuit and the second battery liquid heat circuit are the same circuit, but when the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, the PTC heater 17 does not work, and when the second battery liquid heat circuit is working, the PTC heater 17 works. Similarly, when the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the PTC heater 17 also does not work.

[0153] In an embodiment of the present application, the thermal management system of the vehicle is provided with a second battery liquid thermal circuit. When the battery temperature is low, the battery module 1 can be heated by the second battery liquid thermal circuit to prevent the battery module 1 from being too cold. In addition, when the motor 7 in the first battery liquid thermal circuit is not working and the battery module 1 needs to be heated, the second battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate, which can avoid affecting the life and energy efficiency of the motor 7, and the heating efficiency of the battery module 1 is higher.

[0154] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the coolant flow path in the thermal management system of the vehicle is mainly introduced. The following is a specific introduction to the refrigerant flow path in the thermal management system of the vehicle.

[0155] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the refrigerant system includes an evaporator 12, a compressor 11 and a condenser 10;

[0156] The first end of the refrigerant flow channel and the first end of the evaporator 12 are both connected to the first end of the condenser 10, the second end of the refrigerant flow channel and the second end of the evaporator 12 are both connected to the first end of the compressor 11, and the second end of the compressor 11 is connected to the second end of the condenser 10;

[0157] When the battery direct cooling circuit is working, the refrigerant flowing out of the compressor 11 flows through the condenser 10 , enters the refrigerant flow channel, cools the battery module 1 , and then returns to the compressor 11 .

[0158] In an embodiment of the present application, the battery direct cooling circuit may include a compressor 11, a condenser 10, and a refrigerant flow channel. The compressor 11, the condenser 10, and the refrigerant flow channel are connected in series to form a circuit. The condenser 10 and the refrigerant flow channel can be selectively connected. When the condenser 10 and the refrigerant flow channel are connected, the battery direct cooling circuit is connected, and the battery direct cooling circuit works to cool the battery module 1.

[0159] In some possible implementations, the refrigerant system may further include a first valve 15 and a second valve 16. The first end of the refrigerant flow channel is connected to the first end of the condenser 10 through the first valve 15, and the first end of the evaporator 12 is connected to the first end of the condenser 10 through the second valve 16. The first valve 15 may be an electronic expansion valve; the second valve 16 may include a thermal expansion valve and a stop valve.

[0160] When thermal runaway occurs in the battery module 1, the high-voltage electric compressor 11 is not allowed to work, because if the high-voltage electric compressor 11 continues to work, the thermal runaway of the battery module 1 may become more serious, which may increase the risk of electrical failure. Therefore, when thermal runaway occurs in the battery module 1, the high-voltage electric compressor 11 is not allowed to work, that is, the battery direct cooling circuit is not allowed to work, and the low-voltage motor water pump 3 can work, so the battery module 1 can be cooled by the coolant.

[0161] The embodiment of the present application can quickly cool down the battery module 1 through the battery direct cooling circuit, with high cooling efficiency, and can be suitable for working conditions with high battery temperature. In addition, the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery temperature equalization circuit can be controlled to work simultaneously, so as to quickly cool down the battery module 1 while avoiding excessive temperature difference of the battery module 1.

[0162] It should be noted that the connection relationship between the various components in the thermal management system of the vehicle refers to the connection relationship between the pipes or space containers set at each component through which the coolant or refrigerant can flow. For example, the connection between the motor 7 and the OBC three-in-one 6 means that the pipe set at the motor 7 is connected to the pipe set at the OBC three-in-one 6, and so on.

[0163] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the circuits related to the thermal management of the battery module 1 are mainly introduced. In addition, the thermal management system of the vehicle may also include a circuit for heating the passenger compartment, which is described in detail as follows.

[0164] See also Figure 3 , the thermal management system of the vehicle may also include a first passenger compartment heating circuit;

[0165] The first passenger compartment heating circuit includes an air conditioning water pump 18, a WPTC heater 19, a heater core 20, a third three-way valve 27 and a second overflow tank 28;

[0166] The first end of the air-conditioning water pump 18 is connected to the second end of the WPTC heater 19, the first end of the WPTC heater 19 is connected to the second end of the warm air core 20, the first end of the warm air core 20 is connected to the second end of the third three-way valve 27, the first end of the third three-way valve 27 is connected to the second end of the second overflow tank 28, and the first end of the second overflow tank 28 is connected to the second end of the air-conditioning water pump 18.

[0167] When the first passenger compartment heating circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the air conditioning water pump 18 is heated by the WPTC heater 19, flows into the heater core 20, heats the passenger compartment, and then passes through the third three-way valve 27 and the second overflow tank 28 and returns to the air conditioning water pump 18.

[0168] When the first passenger compartment heating circuit is working, the first end of the third three-way valve 27 is communicated with the second end of the third three-way valve 27 .

[0169] Among them, the WPTC heater 19 is a water heating type PTC heater.

[0170] The vehicle's thermal management system may also include a second passenger compartment heating circuit;

[0171] The second passenger compartment heating circuit includes an engine water pump 22, an engine 21, a second overflow tank 28, an air conditioning water pump 18, a WPTC heater 19, a heater core 20 and a third three-way valve 27;

[0172] A first end of the engine water pump 22 is connected to a second end of the engine 21, a first end of the engine 21 is connected to a second end of the second overflow tank 28, a first end of the second overflow tank 28 is connected to a second end of the air-conditioning water pump 18, a first end of the air-conditioning water pump 18 is connected to a second end of the WPTC heater 19, a first end of the WPTC heater 19 is connected to a second end of the heater core 20, a first end of the heater core 20 is connected to a second end of the third three-way valve 27, a first end of the third three-way valve 27 is connected to a second end of the second overflow tank 28, and a third end of the third three-way valve 27 is connected to a second end of the engine water pump 22.

[0173] When the second passenger compartment heating circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the engine water pump 22 is heated by the engine 21, flows through the second overflow tank 28, the air-conditioning water pump 18 and the WPTC heater 19 in sequence, enters the heater core 20, heats the passenger compartment, and then returns to the engine water pump 22 through the third three-way valve 27.

[0174] When the second passenger compartment heating circuit is working, the second end of the third three-way valve 27 is communicated with the third end of the third three-way valve 27 .

[0175] When the second passenger compartment heating circuit is working, the WPTC heater 19 may or may not work. When the WPTC heater 19 is working, the coolant absorbs the waste heat of the engine 21 and the heat generated by the WPTC heater 19 to heat the passenger compartment; when the WPTC heater 19 is not working, the coolant only absorbs the waste heat of the engine 21 to heat the passenger compartment.

[0176] In some possible implementations, see Figure 3 The thermal management system of the vehicle may further include a thermostat 25, a third overflow tank 26, a high temperature radiator 23 and a fan 24. The connection relationship can be seen in Figure 3 , no more details.

[0177] When there is a need for heating in the passenger compartment, the embodiment of the present application can control the first passenger compartment heating circuit or the second passenger compartment heating circuit to operate to meet the heating demand of the passenger compartment.

[0178] For the thermal management system of the above vehicle, see Figure 4 , the embodiment of the present application also provides a control method for a thermal management system of a vehicle, which is applied to any of the thermal management systems of the above-mentioned vehicles. The control method for the thermal management system of the vehicle can be applied to electronic equipment in the vehicle. That is, the electronic equipment in the vehicle can be the execution subject of the control method for the thermal management system of the vehicle, and the electronic equipment can specifically be a controller in the vehicle, for example, it can be a vehicle controller, a domain controller or an electronic control unit, etc., and no specific limitation is made here.

[0179] Combine the following Figures 1 to 3The structure of the vehicle's thermal management system, refer to Figure 4 A control method of a thermal management system of a vehicle provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application will be described.

[0180] It should be noted that the control method of the thermal management system of a vehicle provided according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application can be executed on the same device or on different devices.

[0181] See also Figure 4 , the control method of the thermal management system of the above vehicle may include:

[0182] Step 401, obtaining the maximum cell temperature of the battery module and the coolant temperature of the motor liquid cooling system.

[0183] The maximum cell temperature of the battery module may be the maximum value among the temperatures of the individual cells in the battery module, or the maximum value among the temperatures at multiple locations in the battery module. For example, a temperature sensor may be placed in each cell in the battery module to collect the temperature of each cell, and the maximum value among the temperatures of each cell is taken as the maximum cell temperature; or, in order to reduce the number of temperature sensors, temperature sensors may be evenly arranged at multiple locations in the battery module, the temperature of each location where a temperature sensor is arranged is collected, and the maximum value among the temperatures at multiple locations is taken as the maximum cell temperature.

[0184] The coolant temperature of the motor liquid cooling system may specifically refer to the temperature of the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump. For example, a temperature sensor may be provided at the outlet of the motor water pump to collect the temperature of the coolant at the outlet of the motor water pump as the coolant temperature of the motor liquid cooling system.

[0185] Step 402, when the maximum battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, if the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the target temperature, the battery liquid cooling circuit is controlled to operate; the target temperature is the difference between the second preset temperature and the first temperature difference; the first temperature difference is the difference between the maximum battery cell temperature and the first preset temperature; the second preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature.

[0186] The first preset temperature may be a minimum temperature corresponding to when the battery module has a cooling requirement.

[0187] When the highest battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, it means that the battery module needs to be cooled, that is, there is a cooling demand. At this time, it is detected whether the coolant temperature can meet the conditions for cooling the battery module. If it can, the battery liquid cooling circuit is controlled to work, and the battery module is cooled through the battery liquid cooling circuit.

[0188] Among them, the condition for the coolant temperature to cool the battery module is whether the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the target temperature. If so, the coolant temperature meets the condition for cooling the battery module, and the purpose of cooling the battery module can be achieved through the battery liquid cooling circuit. If not, the coolant temperature does not meet the condition for cooling the battery module, and the purpose of cooling the battery module cannot be achieved through the battery liquid cooling circuit. The battery can only be cooled by working through the battery direct cooling circuit.

[0189] Due to the different maximum cell temperatures, the amount of cooling required to cool the battery module is different. Therefore, the target temperature is not fixed, but changes with the maximum cell temperature. The target temperature is negatively correlated with the maximum cell temperature, that is, the higher the maximum cell temperature, the lower the target temperature; the lower the maximum cell temperature, the higher the target temperature.

[0190] Specifically, the target temperature can be calculated by the formula: T0 = T2 - (T max -T1); T0 is the target temperature, T2 is the second preset temperature, T max is the maximum cell temperature, and T1 is the first preset temperature. max -T1 is the first temperature difference.

[0191] Since the battery module needs to be cooled, the coolant temperature needs to be lower than the maximum battery cell temperature. Based on this, the second preset temperature needs to be lower than the first preset temperature.

[0192] The specific values ​​of the first preset temperature and the second preset temperature can be set according to the above-mentioned limiting conditions of the two and according to actual needs. For example, the first preset temperature can be 38 degrees and the second preset temperature can be 30 degrees; or the first preset temperature can be 40 degrees and the second preset temperature can be 32 degrees, and so on.

[0193] As mentioned above, cooling the battery module by a battery direct cooling circuit may cause a large temperature difference between the cells in the battery module, and under the premise that the battery liquid cooling circuit can achieve the purpose of cooling the battery module, using the battery liquid cooling circuit to cool the battery module has lower energy consumption. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application gives priority to using the battery liquid cooling circuit to cool the battery module, and only when the coolant temperature is too high and cannot achieve the purpose of cooling the battery module, the battery direct cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module.

[0194] Step 403 , when the highest battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, if the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature, the battery direct cooling circuit is controlled to operate.

[0195] As mentioned above, when the highest cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, it indicates that the battery module has a cooling demand. At this time, if the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature, it indicates that the battery liquid cooling circuit cannot achieve the purpose of cooling the battery module. Therefore, the battery direct cooling circuit can be controlled to work and the battery module can be cooled by the battery direct cooling circuit.

[0196] In some possible implementations, if the highest battery cell temperature is lower than the first preset temperature, it means that the battery module does not need to be cooled, and there is no need to control the battery liquid cooling circuit or the battery direct cooling circuit to operate.

[0197] In the embodiment of the present application, when the highest cell temperature of the battery module is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, that is, when the highest cell temperature of the battery module is higher than the upper limit of its normal operating temperature range, the temperature of the battery module can be reduced by controlling the battery liquid cooling circuit or the battery direct cooling circuit to work; in addition, since the temperature difference of the battery module may be increased when the battery direct cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module, and under the premise that the battery liquid cooling circuit can achieve the purpose of cooling the battery module, the battery liquid cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module, and the energy consumption is lower. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, when the battery module has a cooling demand and the coolant temperature can meet the conditions for cooling the battery module, the battery liquid cooling circuit is preferentially used to cool the battery module, which can reduce the temperature difference between the cells in the battery module and reduce energy consumption; when the battery module has a cooling demand, but the coolant temperature cannot meet the conditions, the battery direct cooling circuit is used to cool the battery module, which can improve the cooling efficiency. The battery liquid cooling circuit and the battery direct cooling circuit can achieve cooling of the battery module in different situations.

[0198] In some possible implementations, when the highest battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, if the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature, the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery liquid cooling circuit may be controlled to operate simultaneously.

[0199] As mentioned above, when the highest battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, it indicates that the battery module has a cooling demand. At this time, if the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature, it indicates that the purpose of cooling the battery module cannot be achieved by only using the battery liquid cooling circuit. However, although it can quickly cool down the battery module by controlling the battery direct cooling circuit alone, it is easy to cause a large temperature difference between the battery cells of the battery module. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application can control the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery liquid cooling circuit to work simultaneously to achieve rapid and uniform cooling of the battery module.

[0200] The above embodiments describe the conditions under which the battery liquid cooling circuit or the battery direct cooling circuit is controlled to work to meet the cooling requirements of the battery module. The following describes the conditions under which the battery temperature equalization circuit needs to be controlled to work.

[0201] In some embodiments, the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0202] The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle also includes:

[0203] When thermal runaway of the battery module is detected, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate and the battery direct cooling circuit is prohibited from operating.

[0204] When a battery module experiences thermal runaway, the temperature of the battery module is very high and / or the temperature difference between the cells in the battery module is large. Since the battery temperature equalization circuit can quickly cool down or quickly balance the temperature difference between the cells, the battery temperature equalization circuit can be controlled to work so as to quickly reduce the temperature and temperature difference of the battery module.

[0205] When the battery module has thermal runaway, it is necessary to prohibit the use of high-voltage compressors. Because, when the battery module has thermal runaway, the internal temperature of the battery module may rise sharply, which may cause fire or explosion. If the compressor is allowed to continue to work at this time, the heat and possible sparks generated by the compressor will further aggravate the fire, making the thermal runaway of the battery module more serious and increasing the danger; in addition, thermal runaway may cause the voltage of the battery module to be unstable, or even cause a short circuit failure. In this case, continuing to use the compressor will increase the risk of electrical failure, which may lead to more serious short circuits, arc discharges and other problems, and thus cause greater safety hazards. Therefore, when the battery module has thermal runaway, the compressor is not allowed to continue to work. The compressor is an important component in the battery direct cooling circuit. If the compressor cannot work, the battery direct cooling circuit cannot work. That is, when the battery module has thermal runaway, the battery direct cooling circuit is prohibited from working.

[0206] Among them, to detect whether the battery module has thermal runaway, mature technical means in the relevant technology can be used. For example, if the maximum battery cell temperature exceeds the sixth preset temperature, and the time when the maximum battery cell temperature exceeds the sixth preset temperature is longer than the first preset time, it is determined that the battery module has thermal runaway, wherein the sixth preset temperature is greater than the first preset temperature, for example, the sixth preset temperature can be 100 degrees, and the first preset time can be 5 minutes; or, if the maximum battery cell temperature exceeds the seventh preset temperature, and the growth rate of the maximum battery cell temperature is greater than the preset growth rate, it is determined that the battery module has thermal runaway, wherein the seventh preset temperature is greater than the first preset temperature and less than the sixth preset temperature, for example, it can be 70 degrees or 80 degrees, etc., and the preset growth rate can be set according to actual needs; or, the maximum temperature difference between the battery cells of the battery module is greater than the fourth preset temperature difference, and the maximum temperature difference between the battery cells of the battery module is greater than the fourth preset temperature difference. If the time duration when the temperature difference is greater than a fourth preset temperature difference is greater than the second preset time duration, it is determined that thermal runaway has occurred in the battery module, wherein the fourth preset temperature difference is greater than the first preset temperature difference, for example, it may be 15 degrees or 20 degrees, etc., and the second preset time duration may be 5 minutes; or, if the voltage drop of the battery module exceeds a preset percentage of its initial voltage, it is determined that thermal runaway has occurred in the battery module, wherein the preset percentage may be 25%; or, if the air pressure in the battery module exceeds a preset air pressure threshold, it is determined that thermal runaway has occurred in the battery module, wherein the preset air pressure threshold may be set according to actual needs; or, if the expansion force between any adjacent battery cells in the battery module exceeds a preset expansion force threshold, it is determined that thermal runaway has occurred in the battery module, wherein the preset expansion force threshold may be set according to actual needs; and so on.

[0207] In an embodiment of the present application, if thermal runaway occurs in the battery module, if the battery direct cooling circuit is working, the thermal runaway of the battery module may become more serious and the risk of electrical failure may be increased. Therefore, when the battery module is thermally runaway, the battery direct cooling circuit is prohibited from working, and the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to work, so that the battery module can be cooled down quickly and the temperature difference can be reduced.

[0208] In some embodiments, the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0209] The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle also includes:

[0210] When the battery direct cooling circuit is working, obtain the lowest cell temperature of the battery module;

[0211] Calculating a second temperature difference between the highest battery cell temperature and the lowest battery cell temperature, and a third temperature difference between the lowest battery cell temperature and the coolant temperature;

[0212] If the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, and the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate.

[0213] The minimum cell temperature of the battery module may be the minimum value among the temperatures of the cells in the battery module, or the minimum value among the temperatures at multiple locations in the battery module. It corresponds to the maximum cell temperature of the battery module. If the maximum cell temperature is the maximum value among the temperatures of the cells in the battery module, the minimum cell temperature is the minimum value among the temperatures of the cells in the battery module; if the maximum cell temperature is the maximum value among the temperatures at multiple locations in the battery module, the minimum cell temperature is the minimum value among the temperatures at multiple locations in the battery module.

[0214] As mentioned above, when the battery direct cooling circuit cools the battery module, it is easy to cause a large temperature difference in the battery module. Therefore, when the battery direct cooling circuit is working, it can be detected whether the battery temperature equalization circuit needs to work at the same time.

[0215] Specifically, it is possible to monitor whether the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference. When the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, it means that the temperature difference between the cells in the battery module is large and needs to be averaged; otherwise, it means that the temperature difference between the cells in the battery module is small and does not need to be averaged. In addition, since the battery direct cooling circuit is working, it means that the battery module needs to be cooled down at this time. Therefore, it is also necessary to detect whether the coolant temperature can cool down the battery module. Therefore, it is also necessary to monitor whether the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference. When the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, it means that the coolant temperature can cool down the battery module; otherwise, it means that the coolant temperature cannot cool down the battery module.

[0216] To sum up, when it is detected that the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, and the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, it means that the temperature difference between the battery cells in the battery module is large, and temperature equalization is required, and the coolant temperature can cool the battery module. Therefore, the battery temperature equalization circuit can be controlled to work at this time, that is, the battery direct cooling circuit and the battery temperature equalization circuit work together to cool the battery module and reduce the temperature difference between the battery cells in the battery module; otherwise, the battery temperature equalization circuit is not controlled to work.

[0217] The second temperature difference is the difference between the highest cell temperature and the lowest cell temperature, and the third temperature difference is the difference between the lowest cell temperature and the coolant temperature. Both the first preset temperature difference and the second preset temperature difference are greater than 0, and the values ​​of the first preset temperature difference and the second preset temperature difference can be set according to actual needs, for example, both can be 10 degrees or 12 degrees, and so on.

[0218] In the embodiment of the present application, since the battery direct cooling circuit may cause a large temperature difference in the battery module when it is working, it is necessary to detect whether the temperature difference of the battery module is too large when the battery direct cooling circuit is working. In addition, the battery direct cooling circuit is working, which means that the battery module needs to be cooled down. Therefore, it is also necessary to detect whether the coolant temperature can meet the conditions for cooling the battery module. If the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, it means that the temperature difference of the battery module is too large. If the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, it means that the coolant temperature can meet the conditions for cooling the battery module. Then, the battery temperature equalization circuit can be controlled to work, so as to reduce the temperature difference of the battery module while cooling the battery module.

[0219] In the above embodiments, it is described under what circumstances the battery temperature equalization circuit needs to be controlled to work. The following further describes under what circumstances the first battery liquid heat circuit or the second battery liquid heat circuit needs to be controlled to work.

[0220] In some embodiments, a thermal management system for a vehicle includes a first battery fluid thermal loop;

[0221] The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle also includes:

[0222] Get the minimum cell temperature of the battery module;

[0223] When the battery module is in a discharging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a third preset temperature, a third temperature difference between the coolant temperature and the lowest battery cell temperature is calculated; the third preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature;

[0224] If the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the third preset temperature difference, and the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate; and the fourth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature.

[0225] The third preset temperature may be the maximum temperature corresponding to the heating requirement when the battery module is in a discharge state. The third preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature. The value of the third preset temperature may be set according to actual requirements, for example, it may be 10 degrees or 12 degrees, etc.

[0226] When the battery module is in a discharge state, the vehicle is in a start-up state, which can be a start-up and stationary state, or a start-up and driving state, and the motor in the vehicle's motor subsystem is in a working state. At this time, if the lowest cell temperature of the battery module is less than or equal to the third preset temperature, it means that the battery module has a heating demand at this time, and it is necessary to further determine whether the coolant temperature can meet the heating demand of the battery module and will not damage the battery module. Specifically, if the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the third preset temperature difference, it means that the coolant temperature is high and can meet the heating demand of the battery module; if the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, it means that the coolant temperature is not too high and will not cause damage to the battery module. When both conditions are met, the first battery liquid heat circuit can be controlled to work, and the waste heat generated by the motor subsystem can be used to heat the battery module.

[0227] The third temperature difference is the difference between the coolant temperature and the lowest cell temperature. The third preset temperature difference is greater than 0, and the value of the third preset temperature difference can be set according to actual needs, for example, the third preset temperature difference can be 5 degrees or 7 degrees, and so on.

[0228] The fourth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and may also be greater than the first preset temperature. The value of the fourth preset temperature may be set according to actual needs, for example, the fourth preset temperature may be 55 degrees or 60 degrees, and so on.

[0229] When the battery module is in a discharge state and the lowest cell temperature is less than or equal to the third preset temperature, if the third temperature difference is less than the third preset temperature difference, or the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, the first battery liquid heat circuit is not controlled to work, that is, the battery module may not be heated at this time. Because when the vehicle is in a start-up state, the battery module does not have a high demand for heating, and the battery module can also work when the lowest cell temperature is less than or equal to the third preset temperature. If it can be heated by the waste heat of the motor subsystem, it will be heated by the waste heat. If it cannot be heated by the waste heat of the motor subsystem, the battery module may not be heated.

[0230] In an embodiment of the present application, when the battery module is in a discharging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to the third preset temperature, it means that the battery module is in a discharging and low-temperature state. At this time, if the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the third preset temperature difference, it means that the coolant temperature at this time can meet the conditions for heating the battery module. At the same time, the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, which means that the coolant temperature will not be too high at this time to avoid damage to the battery module. The first battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate, and the waste heat of the motor subsystem can be used to heat the battery module, so as to realize waste heat recovery of the motor subsystem and avoid energy waste.

[0231] In some embodiments, after obtaining the lowest cell temperature of the battery module, the method further includes:

[0232] When the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate, and the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to be blocked; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is lower than the first preset temperature.

[0233] The fifth preset temperature may be a maximum temperature corresponding to a heating requirement when the battery module is in a charging state. The fifth preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature and greater than the third preset temperature. The value of the fifth preset temperature may be set according to actual needs, for example, it may be 20 degrees or 22 degrees, etc.

[0234] Since the power requirements of the battery module are different when the battery module is in the discharge state and the charging state. When the battery module is in the discharge state, the power requirement is not large; while when the battery module is in the charging state, the power requirement is greater because the greater the power, the shorter the charging time. That is, the power requirement of the battery module in the discharge state is less than the power requirement of the battery module in the charging state. The temperature of the battery module has an impact on the power. Therefore, when the battery module is in the charging state, the corresponding maximum temperature when there is a heating requirement is greater than the corresponding maximum temperature when the battery module is in the discharge state, that is, the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature.

[0235] When the battery module is in the charging state, the vehicle is not started, and the motor in the motor subsystem of the vehicle is not working. At this time, if the lowest cell temperature of the battery module is less than or equal to the fifth preset temperature, it means that the battery module has a heating demand at this time, and the first battery liquid thermal circuit needs to be controlled to work. Since the motor is not working, the residual heat cannot be used to heat the battery module. Therefore, it is necessary to control the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit to be blocked, that is, to control the motor in the motor subsystem to actively block, actively generate heat, heat the passing coolant, and then heat the battery module through the coolant.

[0236] In an embodiment of the present application, when the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to the fifth preset temperature, it indicates that the battery module is in a charging and low-temperature state. At this time, the first battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate. Since the motor is not working when the battery module is in a charging state, the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to be blocked so that the motor actively generates heat. Thus, the coolant in the first battery liquid thermal circuit can absorb the heat generated by the motor, heat the battery module, and make the temperature of the battery module within a temperature range suitable for charging, thereby improving the charging efficiency.

[0237] In some embodiments, the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a second battery fluid thermal loop;

[0238] After obtaining the minimum cell temperature of the battery module, it also includes:

[0239] When the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature, the second battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature.

[0240] In an embodiment of the present application, the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a first battery liquid thermal circuit and a second battery liquid thermal circuit, and the battery module can be heated in two ways.

[0241] In the above embodiment, when the thermal management system of the vehicle only includes the first battery liquid thermal circuit which can heat the battery module, the control method is used when the battery module is in a charging state and has a heating demand.

[0242] This embodiment is a control method for a battery module in a charging state and having a heating demand when a thermal management system of a vehicle includes a first battery liquid thermal circuit and a second battery liquid thermal circuit, which are two ways of heating the battery module.

[0243] When there are a first battery liquid heat circuit and a second battery liquid heat circuit, if the battery module is in a charging state, the second battery liquid heat circuit has a higher priority than the first battery liquid heat circuit, that is, when the battery module has a heating demand, the second battery liquid heat circuit is used first to heat the battery module. The main reason is that in this case, the efficiency of the second battery liquid heat circuit is higher than that of the first battery liquid heat circuit, so the second battery liquid heat circuit is used first to heat the battery module.

[0244] As described in the previous embodiment, when the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to the fifth preset temperature, it indicates that the battery module has a heating requirement. At this time, the second battery liquid heat circuit can be controlled to operate, that is, the coolant is heated by the PTC heater, and then the battery module is heated by the coolant.

[0245] In the embodiment of the present application, when the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to the fifth preset temperature, it means that the battery module is in a charging and low-temperature state. At this time, the second battery liquid thermal circuit can be controlled to operate, and the coolant is heated by the PTC heater in the second battery liquid thermal circuit to heat the battery module. Compared with the method of heating the battery module by motor stalling, heating the battery module by using the second battery liquid thermal circuit is more efficient.

[0246] It should be understood that the size of the serial numbers of the steps in the above embodiments does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0247] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the structure of a control device for a vehicle thermal management system provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the control device 500 of the vehicle thermal management system provided in this embodiment can be applied to any of the above-mentioned vehicle thermal management systems, and may include: an acquisition module 501 , a first control module 502 and a second control module 503 .

[0248] Wherein, the acquisition module 501 is used to obtain the maximum cell temperature of the battery module and the coolant temperature of the motor liquid cooling system;

[0249] The first control module 502 is used to control the battery liquid cooling circuit to operate when the maximum battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature and the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the target temperature; the target temperature is the difference between the second preset temperature and the first temperature difference; the first temperature difference is the difference between the maximum battery cell temperature and the first preset temperature; the second preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature;

[0250] The second control module 503 is used to control the battery direct cooling circuit to operate when the maximum battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature and the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature.

[0251] In one possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0252] The control device 500 of the thermal management system of the vehicle may further include a first temperature uniformity control module.

[0253] The first temperature control module is used for:

[0254] When thermal runaway of the battery module is detected, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate and the battery direct cooling circuit is prohibited from operating.

[0255] In one possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit;

[0256] The control device 500 of the thermal management system of the vehicle may further include a second temperature uniformity control module.

[0257] The second temperature control module is used for:

[0258] When the battery direct cooling circuit is working, obtain the lowest cell temperature of the battery module;

[0259] Calculating a second temperature difference between the highest battery cell temperature and the lowest battery cell temperature, and a third temperature difference between the lowest battery cell temperature and the coolant temperature;

[0260] If the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, and the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate.

[0261] In one possible implementation, a thermal management system for a vehicle includes a first battery fluid thermal circuit;

[0262] The control device 500 of the thermal management system of the vehicle may further include a heating control module.

[0263] The heating control module is used to:

[0264] Get the minimum cell temperature of the battery module;

[0265] When the battery module is in a discharging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a third preset temperature, a third temperature difference between the coolant temperature and the lowest battery cell temperature is calculated; the third preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature;

[0266] If the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the third preset temperature difference, and the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate; and the fourth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature.

[0267] In one possible implementation, the heating control module is also used to: when the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature, control the first battery liquid thermal circuit to operate and control the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit to stall; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is lower than the first preset temperature.

[0268] In one possible implementation, the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a second battery liquid thermal circuit;

[0269] The heating control module is also used to: control the operation of the second battery liquid thermal circuit when the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature.

[0270] It should be noted that the information interaction, execution process, etc. between the above-mentioned devices / units are based on the same concept as the method embodiment of the present application. Their specific functions and technical effects can be found in the method embodiment part and will not be repeated here.

[0271] The present application also provides a computer program product having a program code, which executes the steps of any of the above-mentioned vehicle thermal management system control method embodiments when the program code is run in a corresponding processor, controller, computing device or terminal, such as Figure 4 Steps 401 to 403 are shown.

[0272] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the method and the equipment proposed in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, a dedicated processor or a combination thereof. The dedicated processor may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) and / or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The proposed method and device are preferably implemented as a combination of hardware and software. The software is preferably installed on a program storage device as an application. It is typically based on a machine with a computer platform having hardware, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs), random access memories (RAMs) and one or more input / output (I / O) interfaces. An operating system is also typically installed on the computer platform. The various processes and functions described here may be part of an application, or a part thereof may be executed by an operating system.

[0273] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As shown, the electronic device 600 of this embodiment includes: a processor 610 and a memory 620, wherein the memory 620 stores a computer program 621 that can be run on the processor 610. When the processor 610 executes the computer program 621, the steps in any of the above method embodiments are implemented, for example Figure 4 Alternatively, when the processor 610 executes the computer program 621, the functions of each module / unit in the above-mentioned device embodiments are implemented, for example Figure 5 The functions of each module are shown.

[0274] Exemplarily, the computer program 621 may be divided into one or more modules / units, one or more modules / units are stored in the memory 620, and are executed by the processor 610 to complete the present application. The one or more modules / units may be a series of computer program instruction segments capable of completing specific functions, and the instruction segments are used to describe the execution process of the computer program 621 in the electronic device 600.

[0275] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 6 These are merely examples of electronic devices and do not constitute a limitation of the electronic device. The electronic device may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or a combination of certain components, or different components, such as input and output devices, network access devices, buses, etc.

[0276] The processor 610 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0277] The memory 620 may be an internal storage unit of the electronic device, such as a hard disk or memory of the electronic device, or an external storage device of the electronic device, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card (SmartMedia Card, SMC), a secure digital (Secure Digital, SD) card, a flash card (Flash Card), etc. equipped on the electronic device. The above-mentioned memory 620 may also include both an internal storage unit of the electronic device and an external storage device. The above-mentioned memory 620 is used to store computer programs and other programs and data required by the electronic device. The memory 620 may also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0278] The technicians in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional units and modules is used as an example for illustration. In practical applications, the above-mentioned function allocation can be completed by different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The functional units and modules in the embodiment can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units. In addition, the specific names of the functional units and modules are only for the convenience of distinguishing each other, and are not used to limit the scope of protection of this application. The specific working process of the units and modules in the above-mentioned system can refer to the corresponding process in the aforementioned method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0279] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a vehicle, including any one of the above-mentioned thermal management systems for the vehicles, having the beneficial effects of any one of the above-mentioned thermal management systems for the vehicles.

[0280] In a possible implementation, the vehicle may further include the electronic device, and the thermal management system of the vehicle is controlled by the electronic device.

[0281] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the control method of the thermal management system of any one of the above-mentioned vehicles is implemented.

[0282] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts that are not described or recorded in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0283] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0284] In the embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed devices / electronic devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device / electronic device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0285] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0286] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0287] If the integrated module / unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the present invention implements all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment method, and can also be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program can implement the steps of the above-mentioned various method embodiments when executed by the processor. Among them, the computer program includes computer program code, and the computer program code can be in source code form, object code form, executable file or some intermediate form. The computer-readable medium may include: any entity or device capable of carrying the computer program code, recording medium, U disk, mobile hard disk, disk, optical disk, computer memory, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), electrical carrier signal, telecommunication signal and software distribution medium, etc.

[0288] The embodiments described above are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. Such modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A thermal management system for a vehicle, characterized in that: Including battery liquid cooling circuit and battery direct cooling circuit; The battery liquid cooling circuit includes a dual-medium cold plate, a coolant branch, and a motor water pump and a radiator in the motor liquid cooling system; the dual-medium cold plate is arranged at the battery module of the vehicle, and includes a refrigerant flow channel and a coolant flow channel; The first end of the coolant branch is connected to the first end of the radiator and the first end of the coolant channel respectively, the second end of the coolant branch is connected to the first end of the motor water pump, and the second end of the motor water pump is connected to the second end of the radiator and the second end of the coolant channel respectively; When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump passes through the coolant branch, one path is cooled by the radiator, and then returns to the motor water pump, and the other path flows into the coolant flow channel, cools the battery module, and then returns to the motor water pump; The battery direct cooling circuit includes the refrigerant flow channel and a refrigerant system; the refrigerant flow channel is connected to the refrigerant system.

2. The thermal management system of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thermal management system of the vehicle also includes a battery temperature equalization circuit; The battery temperature equalization circuit includes the motor water pump, the coolant branch and the coolant flow channel; When the battery temperature equalization circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump passes through the coolant branch and the coolant flow channel in sequence and then returns to the motor water pump to equalize the temperature of the battery module.

3. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thermal management system of the vehicle further comprises a first battery liquid thermal circuit; the motor liquid cooling system further comprises a motor subsystem; The first battery liquid heat circuit includes the motor water pump, the motor subsystem and the coolant flow channel; the motor subsystem is connected in parallel with the coolant branch; When the first battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump is heated by the motor subsystem, flows into the coolant flow channel, heats the battery module, and then returns to the motor water pump.

4. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that: The battery liquid cooling circuit and the first battery liquid heating circuit both further include a first three-way valve; The first end of the first three-way valve is connected to the first end of the motor water pump, the second end of the first three-way valve is connected to the motor subsystem, and the third end of the first three-way valve is connected to the second end of the coolant branch; When the first battery liquid heat circuit is in operation, the first end of the first three-way valve is connected to the second end of the first three-way valve; When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the first end of the first three-way valve is connected to the third end of the first three-way valve.

5. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that: The battery liquid cooling circuit and the first battery liquid heating circuit both further include a second three-way valve; The first end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the radiator, the second end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the motor water pump, and the third end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the coolant flow channel; When the first battery liquid heat circuit is working, the second end of the second three-way valve is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve; When the battery liquid cooling circuit is working, the first end of the second three-way valve is connected to the second end of the second three-way valve, and the second end of the second three-way valve is connected to the third end of the second three-way valve.

6. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: A PTC heater is provided on the coolant branch; The thermal management system of the vehicle further includes a second battery liquid thermal circuit; the second battery liquid thermal circuit includes the motor water pump, the coolant branch and the coolant flow channel; When the second battery liquid heat circuit is working, the coolant flowing out of the motor water pump is heated by the PTC heater of the coolant branch, flows into the coolant flow channel, heats the battery module, and then returns to the motor water pump.

7. The thermal management system for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The refrigerant system includes an evaporator, a compressor and a condenser; The first end of the refrigerant flow channel and the first end of the evaporator are both connected to the first end of the condenser, the second end of the refrigerant flow channel and the second end of the evaporator are both connected to the first end of the compressor, and the second end of the compressor is connected to the second end of the condenser; When the battery direct cooling circuit is working, the refrigerant flowing out of the compressor flows through the condenser, enters the refrigerant flow channel, cools the battery module, and then returns to the compressor.

8. A method for controlling a thermal management system of a vehicle, characterized in that: A thermal management system for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising: Obtain the maximum cell temperature of the battery module and the coolant temperature of the motor liquid cooling system; When the maximum battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, if the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the target temperature, the battery liquid cooling circuit is controlled to operate; the target temperature is the difference between the second preset temperature and the first temperature difference; the first temperature difference is the difference between the maximum battery cell temperature and the first preset temperature; the second preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature; When the highest battery cell temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature, if the coolant temperature is greater than the target temperature, the battery direct cooling circuit is controlled to operate.

9. The control method of the thermal management system of a vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that: The thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit; The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes: When thermal runaway of the battery module is detected, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate, and the battery direct cooling circuit is prohibited from operating.

10. The control method of the thermal management system of a vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that: The thermal management system of the vehicle includes a battery temperature equalization circuit; The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes: When the battery direct cooling circuit is working, obtaining the lowest battery cell temperature of the battery module; Calculating a second temperature difference between the highest battery core temperature and the lowest battery core temperature, and a third temperature difference between the lowest battery core temperature and the coolant temperature; If the second temperature difference is greater than or equal to the first preset temperature difference, and the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the second preset temperature difference, the battery temperature equalization circuit is controlled to operate.

11. The control method of a thermal management system of a vehicle according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that: The thermal management system of the vehicle includes a first battery fluid thermal circuit; The control method of the thermal management system of the vehicle further includes: Obtaining the lowest cell temperature of the battery module; When the battery module is in a discharging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a third preset temperature, calculating a third temperature difference between the coolant temperature and the lowest battery cell temperature; the third preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature; If the third temperature difference is greater than or equal to the third preset temperature difference, and the coolant temperature is less than or equal to the fourth preset temperature, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate; and the fourth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature.

12. The control method of the thermal management system of a vehicle according to claim 11, characterized in that: After obtaining the lowest cell temperature of the battery module, the method further includes: When the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature, the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate, and the motor in the first battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to be blocked; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature.

13. The control method of the thermal management system of a vehicle according to claim 11, characterized in that: The vehicle's thermal management system also includes a second battery fluid thermal circuit; After obtaining the lowest cell temperature of the battery module, the method further includes: When the battery module is in a charging state and the lowest battery cell temperature is less than or equal to a fifth preset temperature, the second battery liquid thermal circuit is controlled to operate; the fifth preset temperature is greater than the third preset temperature, and the fifth preset temperature is less than the first preset temperature.

14. A vehicle, characterized in that: A thermal management system for a vehicle comprising the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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