Integrated thermal management system

Abstract

The invention discloses an integrated heat management system which comprises a gas-liquid separator, a compressor, a four-way valve, a central heat exchange hub, an electronic expansion valve and an external liquid cooler which jointly form a refrigerant loop. The system further comprises an electronic water pump, an electric drive system, a first three-way valve and a high-temperature radiator which are matched with the central heat exchange hub to jointly form a high-temperature loop. The system further comprises a battery, a second three-way valve and a low-temperature radiator which are matched with the central heat exchange hub and the electronic water pump to jointly form a low-temperature loop. The system further comprises a third three-way valve, a positive temperature heater, an in-vehicle warm air core and a fourth three-way valve which are matched with the central heat exchange hub and the electronic water pump to jointly form a passenger compartment loop. The problems that in the prior art, waste heat recovery cannot be conducted, waste heat cannot be reused, energy consumption is high, precise temperature control cannot be achieved, and safety and expansibility cannot be considered at the same time are solved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of integrated thermal management system devices, in particular to an integrated thermal management system. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the early development of electric vehicles, the thermal management system usually adopts a decentralized architecture independent of each other, that is, the vehicle-mounted air conditioning system, the battery thermal management system and the electric drive cooling system each have independent heat exchangers, pumps, valves and pipelines. This architecture has inherent technical defects: first, the system has high redundancy, which leads to tight space layout, increased weight and high cost; second, the energy utilization efficiency is low, and a thermal island is formed between each system, for example, the waste heat generated by the electric drive system cannot be effectively recycled, and the passenger cabin heating in low temperature environment completely relies on the high energy consumption PTC heater, which seriously restricts the vehicle's range; finally, the control coordination is poor, and it is difficult to meet the demand for coordinated management of multiple heat sources and multi-target temperature control of the vehicle under complex and variable conditions. However, the existing integrated thermal management system still has the problems of not being able to recycle waste heat, not being able to reuse waste heat, high energy consumption, not being able to accurately control temperature, and not being able to balance safety and scalability.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to invent an integrated thermal management system. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide an integrated thermal management system that can recycle waste heat, reuse waste heat, greatly reduce energy consumption, accurately control the temperature of each component through multi-valve coordinated control, and balance safety and scalability.

[0005] An integrated thermal management system, comprising a gas-liquid separator, a compressor, a four-way valve, a central heat exchange hub, an electronic expansion valve and an external liquid cooler, the above components collectively forming a refrigerant circuit; An integrated thermal management system further comprising an electronic water pump, an electric drive system, a three-way valve one and a high-temperature radiator, the above components cooperating with the central heat exchange hub to form a high-temperature circuit; An integrated thermal management system further comprising a battery, a three-way valve two and a low-temperature radiator, the above components cooperating with the central heat exchange hub and the electronic water pump to form a low-temperature circuit; An integrated thermal management system further comprising a three-way valve three, a positive temperature heater, an in-car heating core and a three-way valve four, the above components cooperating with the central heat exchange hub and the electronic water pump to form a passenger cabin circuit.

[0006] The gas-liquid separator inside the refrigerant circuit is connected to the inlet of the compressor through a pipeline, and the outlet of the compressor is connected to the inlet A of the four-way valve through a pipeline, and the outlet B of the four-way valve is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub through a pipeline; the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub is connected to the electronic expansion valve through a pipeline, and the outlet of the electronic expansion valve is connected to the external liquid cooler through a pipeline, and the outlet of the external liquid cooler is connected to the four-way valve inlet C through a pipeline; the outlet D of the four-way valve is connected back to the gas-liquid separator through a pipeline, forming a closed loop.

[0007] The outlet of the electronic water pump inside the high-temperature circuit is connected to the electric drive system through a pipeline, and the outlet of the electric drive system is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve one through a lead-out wire; one outlet of the three-way valve one is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub through a pipeline, and the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub is connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump through a pipeline, forming a high-temperature circuit main loop; the other outlet of the three-way valve one is connected to the high-temperature radiator.

[0008] The outlet of the electronic water pump inside the low-temperature circuit is connected to the battery through a pipeline, and the outlet of the battery is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve two through a lead-out wire, and one outlet of the three-way valve two is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub through a pipeline; the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub is connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump through a pipeline, forming a low-temperature circuit main loop; the other outlet of the three-way valve two is connected to the low-temperature radiator through a pipeline.

[0009] The outlet of the electronic water pump inside the passenger compartment circuit is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve three through a pipeline, and one outlet of the three-way valve three is connected to the positive temperature heater and connected to the car interior heating core through a pipeline; the other outlet of the three-way valve three can be directly connected to the car interior heating core; the outlet of the car interior heating core is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve four through a pipeline, and one outlet of the three-way valve four is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub through a pipeline; the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub is connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump through a pipeline, forming a passenger compartment circuit main loop; the other outlet of the three-way valve four is directly connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump through a pipeline.

[0010] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: The refrigerant circuit of the application is provided by the cooperation of the gas-liquid separator, the compressor, the four-way valve, the central heat exchange hub, the electronic expansion valve and the external liquid cooler, so as to realize the efficient transport and distribution of heat energy across the circuit: in the refrigeration mode, the circuit dissipates heat to the environment through the external liquid cooler, and provides cooling capacity for the battery or passenger cabin circuit of the low-temperature circuit through the central heat exchange hub; in the heating mode, the four-way valve switches the flow direction, so that the refrigerant circuit can absorb heat from the external environment or recover waste heat from the electric drive system of the high-temperature circuit, and provide heat to the in-car heating core of the passenger cabin circuit or the battery of the low-temperature circuit through the central heat exchange hub, so as to realize the multi-demand cooperative satisfaction of the whole vehicle thermal management.

[0011] The high-temperature circuit of the application is provided, the cooling liquid is driven to circulate by the electronic water pump, flows through the electric drive system to absorb the waste heat generated during operation, and the flow direction of the cooling liquid is intelligently adjusted by the three-way valve: if the electric drive system needs to dissipate heat, the cooling liquid can be directly air-cooled and dissipated by the high-temperature radiator; if the system needs to utilize heat energy, such as winter heating, the cooling liquid enters the central heat exchange hub to exchange heat with the refrigerant circuit, so as to transfer the waste heat to the passenger cabin circuit or the low-temperature circuit, thereby realizing waste heat recovery and energy efficiency improvement.

[0012] The low-temperature circuit of the application is provided, the cooling liquid is driven to circulate by the electronic water pump, flows through the battery to absorb or release heat, and the flow direction of the cooling liquid is intelligently adjusted by the three-way valve: when the battery needs to be cooled, the cooling liquid can be directly air-cooled and dissipated by the low-temperature radiator, or enter the central heat exchange hub to be coupled with the refrigerant circuit to realize efficient cooling; when the battery needs to be heated, the cooling liquid absorbs the heat transferred by the refrigerant circuit or the high-temperature circuit through the central heat exchange hub, so as to ensure that the battery always maintains in the optimal working temperature range, and guarantees the performance, safety and service life of the battery.

[0013] The passenger cabin circuit of the application is provided, the cooling liquid is driven to circulate by the electronic water pump, and multiple working modes are realized by the cooperation of the three-way valve three and the three-way valve four: when heating is needed, the cooling liquid can flow through the positive temperature heater to be directly electrically heated, or enter the central heat exchange hub to absorb the heat transported by the refrigerant circuit and the waste heat recovered by the high-temperature circuit, and finally provide warm air to the passenger cabin through the in-car heating core; when heating is not needed, the cooling liquid can bypass the central heat exchange hub to be directly circulated, so as to flexibly meet the comfort requirements of the passenger cabin and optimize energy consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is the schematic diagram of the integrated thermal management system of the application.

[0015] Figure 2 is the schematic diagram of the refrigerant circuit system of the application.

[0016] Figure 3 is the schematic diagram of the high-temperature circuit system of the application.

[0017] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a low-temperature circuit system of the present application.

[0018] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a passenger cabin circuit system of the present application.

[0019] In the figure: gas-liquid separator 1, compressor 2, four-way valve 3, central heat exchange hub 4, electronic expansion valve 5, external liquid cooler 6, electronic water pump 7, electric drive system 8, three-way valve 1 9, high-temperature radiator 10, including battery 11, three-way valve 2 12, low-temperature radiator 13, three-way valve 3 14, positive temperature heater 15, in-vehicle heating core 16, three-way valve 4 17, refrigerant circuit A, high-temperature circuit B, low-temperature circuit C, passenger cabin circuit D. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0021] As shown in the accompanying drawings: Figures 1-5 The present application provides an integrated thermal management system, comprising a gas-liquid separator 1, a compressor 2, a four-way valve 3, a central heat exchange hub 4, an electronic expansion valve 5, and an external liquid cooler 6, which together form a refrigerant circuit A. The integrated thermal management system further comprises an electronic water pump 7, an electric drive system 8, a three-way valve 1 9, and a high-temperature radiator 10, which cooperate with the central heat exchange hub 4 to form a high-temperature circuit B. The integrated thermal management system further comprises a battery 11, a three-way valve 2 12, and a low-temperature radiator 13, which cooperate with the central heat exchange hub 4 and the electronic water pump 7 to form a low-temperature circuit C. The integrated thermal management system further comprises a three-way valve 3 14, a positive temperature heater 15, an in-vehicle heating core 16, and a three-way valve 4 17, which cooperate with the central heat exchange hub 4 and the electronic water pump 7 to form a passenger cabin circuit D.

[0022] ​The gas-liquid separator 1 inside the refrigerant circuit A is connected to the inlet of the compressor 2 through a pipeline, and the outlet of the compressor 2 is connected to the inlet A of the four-way valve 3 through a pipeline, the outlet B of the four-way valve 3 is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 through a pipeline; the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 is connected to the electronic expansion valve 5 through a pipeline, and the outlet of the electronic expansion valve 5 is connected to the external liquid cooler 6 through a pipeline, and the outlet of the external liquid cooler 6 is connected to the inlet C of the four-way valve 3 through a pipeline; the outlet D of the four-way valve 3 is connected back to the gas-liquid separator 1 through a pipeline, forming a closed loop.

[0023] The outlet of the electronic water pump 7 inside the high-temperature circuit B is connected to the electric drive system 8 through a pipeline, and the outlet of the electric drive system 8 is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve one 9 through a lead wire; one outlet of the three-way valve one 9 is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 through a pipeline, and the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 is connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump 7 through a pipeline, forming the main circulation of the high-temperature circuit; the other outlet of the three-way valve one 9 is connected to the high-temperature radiator 10.

[0024] The outlet of the electronic water pump 7 inside the low-temperature circuit C is connected to the battery 11 through a pipeline, and the outlet of the battery 11 is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve two 12 through a lead wire, and one outlet of the three-way valve two 12 is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 through a pipeline; the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 is connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump 7 through a pipeline, forming the main circulation of the low-temperature circuit; the other outlet of the three-way valve two 12 is connected to the low-temperature radiator 13 through a pipeline.

[0025] The outlet of the electronic water pump 7 inside the passenger compartment circuit D is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve three 14 through a pipeline, and one outlet of the three-way valve three 14 is connected to the positive temperature heater 15 and the in-car heating core 16 through a pipeline; the other outlet of the three-way valve three 14 can be directly connected to the in-car heating core 16; the outlet of the in-car heating core 16 is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve four 17 through a pipeline, and one outlet of the three-way valve four 17 is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 through a pipeline; the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub 4 is connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump 7 through a pipeline, forming the main circulation of the passenger compartment circuit; the other outlet of the three-way valve four 17 is directly connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump 7 through a pipeline.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the integrated thermal management system has the advantages of system integration, energy utilization efficiency, control accuracy and expandability.

[0027] Integration and structure optimization: 1. The central heat exchange hub 4 replaces traditional multiple independent heat exchangers with a single multi-channel heat exchange module, significantly reducing the number of pipe connections and external interfaces, reducing the risk of refrigerant leakage, and reducing system weight and layout space. Compared with the dispersed heat exchange network in the prior art, the integration degree is improved by about 40%.

[0028] 2. The high-temperature circuit B, the low-temperature circuit C, and the passenger cabin circuit D are directly coupled with the refrigerant circuit A through the central heat exchange hub 4, breaking the structural barriers of traditional systems where each thermal management unit is independent, and realizing deep integration at the hardware level.

[0029] II. Energy efficient use: 1. The high-temperature circuit B can preferentially deliver waste heat from the electric drive system 8 to the central heat exchange hub 4 through the three-way valve 9 for heating the battery 11 or the passenger cabin, with a waste heat utilization rate that is up to 35% higher than that of traditional systems, significantly reducing the energy consumption of the positive temperature heater 15.

[0030] 2. The refrigerant circuit A switches modes through the four-way valve 3, which can not only achieve passenger cabin heating, but also directly cool or heat the battery 11 through the central heat exchange hub 4, with a heat exchange efficiency that is more than 20% higher than that of traditional liquid cooling solutions, especially ensuring temperature control requirements during battery fast charging.

[0031] III. Intelligent temperature control: 1. The three-way valve 9, the three-way valve 12, the three-way valve 14, and the three-way valve 17 form a distributed valve group network, supporting dynamic distribution of cooling liquid flow and achieving independent and precise control of temperature differences for different components.

[0032] 2. The central heat exchange hub 4, as a thermal energy scheduling center, can handle multi-dimensional thermal interactions of refrigerant, electric drive waste heat, battery thermal management, and passenger cabin demand at the same time, and through real-time algorithm calculation, it can calculate the optimal heat flow path to avoid energy waste caused by heat source conflicts in traditional systems.

[0033] IV. Improved safety and scalability: 1. The direct cooling and heating capability of the battery 11 can quickly suppress heat diffusion, and the independent heat dissipation path of the high-temperature circuit B ensures that the electric drive system 8 does not overheat under heavy load, and the system redundancy design is higher than the functional safety standard.

[0034] 2. The modular design supports the addition of new circuits, the flow channel layout of the central heat exchange hub 4 is expandable, and the software and hardware interfaces are reserved to support OTA upgrade and predictive thermal management functions.

[0035] Summary: The integrated thermal management system can recover waste heat, reuse waste heat, greatly reduce energy consumption, and realize precise temperature control of each component through multi-valve cooperative control by the cooperative work of the refrigerant circuit A, the high-temperature circuit B, the low-temperature circuit C and the passenger cabin circuit D, and can balance safety and expansibility.

[0036] While embodiments of the application have been shown and described, it is to be understood that the embodiments described are merely divergences of the principles and specific embodiments of the application and that numerous modifications, changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An integrated thermal management system, comprising a gas-liquid separator (1), a compressor (2), a four-way valve (3), a central heat exchange hub (4), an electronic expansion valve (5) and an external liquid cooler (6), which together form a refrigerant circuit (A); An integrated thermal management system, further comprising an electronic water pump (7), an electric drive system (8), a three-way valve one (9) and a high-temperature radiator (10), which together with the central heat exchange hub (4) form a high-temperature circuit (B); An integrated thermal management system, further comprising a battery (11), a three-way valve two (12) and a low-temperature radiator (13), which together with the central heat exchange hub (4) and the electronic water pump (7) form a low-temperature circuit (C); An integrated thermal management system, further comprising a three-way valve three (14), a positive temperature heater (15), an in-vehicle heating core (16) and a three-way valve four (17), which together with the central heat exchange hub (4) and the electronic water pump (7) form a passenger compartment circuit (D).

2. An integrated thermal management system as in claim 1, wherein: The gas-liquid separator (1) inside the refrigerant circuit (A) is connected by a pipeline to the inlet of the compressor (2), and the outlet of the compressor (2) is connected by a pipeline to the inlet A of the four-way valve (3), the outlet B of the four-way valve (3) is connected by a pipeline to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub (4); the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub (4) is connected by a pipeline to the electronic expansion valve (5), and the outlet of the electronic expansion valve (5) is connected by a pipeline to the external liquid cooler (6), and the outlet of the external liquid cooler (6) is connected by a pipeline to the inlet C of the four-way valve (3); the outlet D of the four-way valve (3) is connected by a pipeline back to the gas-liquid separator (1), forming a closed loop.

3. An integrated thermal management system as in claim 1, wherein: The outlet of the electronic water pump (7) inside the high-temperature circuit (B) is connected by a pipeline to the electric drive system (8), and the outlet of the electric drive system (8) is connected by a lead wire to the inlet of the three-way valve one (9); one outlet of the three-way valve one (9) is connected by a pipeline to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub (4), and the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub (4) is connected by a pipeline to the inlet of the electronic water pump (7), forming a high-temperature circuit main loop; the other outlet of the three-way valve one (9) is connected to the high-temperature radiator (10).

4. An integrated thermal management system as in claim 1, wherein: The outlet of the electronic water pump (7) inside the low-temperature circuit (C) is connected by a pipeline to the battery (11), and the outlet of the battery (11) is connected by a lead wire to the inlet of the three-way valve two (12), and one outlet of the three-way valve two (12) is connected by a pipeline to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub (4); the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub (4) is connected by a pipeline to the inlet of the electronic water pump (7), forming a low-temperature circuit main loop; the other outlet of the three-way valve two (12) is connected by a pipeline to the low-temperature radiator (13).

5. An integrated thermal management system as in claim 1, wherein: The outlet of the electronic water pump (*7) inside the passenger cabin circuit (D) is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve three (14) through a pipe, and one outlet of the three-way valve three (14) is connected to the positive temperature heater (15) through a pipe and connected to the car interior heating core (16) through a pipe; the other outlet of the three-way valve three (14) can be directly connected to the car interior heating core (16); the outlet of the car interior heating core (16) is connected to the inlet of the three-way valve four (17) through a pipe, and one outlet of the three-way valve four (17) is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the central heat exchange hub (*4) through a pipe; the refrigerant outlet of the central heat exchange hub (*4) is connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump (*7) through a pipe, forming the main circulation of the passenger cabin circuit; the other outlet of the three-way valve four (17) is directly connected to the inlet of the electronic water pump (*7) through a pipe.

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