Thermal management systems, methods, vehicles, and computer-readable storage media

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of automobile thermal management, in particular to a thermal management system and method, a vehicle and a computer readable storage medium, wherein the system comprises: a control valve, which divides refrigerant into first path refrigerant and second path refrigerant; a controller, which generates a first control signal according to a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to a power battery and generates a second control signal according to a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to a passenger compartment; the first path refrigerant is used to control a first branch to adjust an actual evaporation pressure to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first control signal; and the second path refrigerant is used to control a second branch to adjust an actual evaporation pressure to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second control signal; the first branch / second branch comprises a first electronic expansion valve, a battery cooler / passenger compartment evaporator and an electronic pressure regulating valve connected in series. The application can simultaneously and independently meet multiple requirements such as power battery cooling, passenger compartment refrigeration, waste heat recovery and heat pump heating.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of automotive thermal management technology, and in particular to a thermal management system, method, vehicle, and computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, the refrigerant circuits of mainstream electric vehicles typically employ a "serial priority" or "switching" logic. In the serial mode, the battery cooler and the passenger compartment evaporator are connected in series in the same refrigerant circuit. The high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor is cooled and depressurized by the condenser, then passes through one heat exchanger (e.g., for battery cooling) and then another (e.g., for cabin cooling) in a serial operation. The switching mode refers to the system switching between "battery cooling only," "passenger compartment cooling only," and "hybrid mode" through a complex valve assembly.

[0003] However, in related technologies, the distribution of cooling capacity in the refrigerant circuit in series mode is fixed, and the temperature at both locations cannot be controlled independently, resulting in low efficiency. Switching modes requires frequent switching between different modes. This frequent switching and operation of mixed modes make it difficult to evenly distribute the cooling capacity between the battery and the cabin at the same time, reducing the user experience. It also leads to unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a large workload on the compressor, making it difficult to meet the thermal management requirements of the vehicle. These issues urgently need to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a thermal management system, method, vehicle, and computer-readable storage medium to address the problems in the related art, where the refrigerant circuit in the vehicle's thermal management system typically adopts a series or switching mode, making it difficult to effectively balance the cooling and temperature balance between the power battery and the passenger compartment, reducing the user experience, and causing unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a large compressor workload, making it difficult to meet the vehicle's thermal management needs.

[0005] A first aspect of this application provides a thermal management system for a vehicle, comprising: a control valve for dividing a refrigerant into a first refrigerant path and a second refrigerant path; and a controller for generating a first control signal based on a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the vehicle's power battery, and generating a second control signal based on a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment, controlling a first branch to adjust its actual evaporation pressure to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first control signal based on the first refrigerant path, and controlling a second branch to adjust its actual evaporation pressure to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second control signal based on the second refrigerant path; wherein the first branch includes a first electronic expansion valve, a battery cooler, and a first electronic pressure regulating valve connected in series; and the second branch includes a second electronic expansion valve, a passenger compartment evaporator, and a second electronic pressure regulating valve connected in series.

[0006] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a condenser, which is connected to the first branch and the second branch respectively via control valves for conveying the refrigerant, wherein the control valve is a three-way solenoid valve; and a gas-liquid separator, the inlet of which is connected to the outlet of the first electronic pressure regulating valve and the outlet of the second electronic pressure regulating valve respectively, for receiving the refrigerant from the first branch and the refrigerant from the second branch, so as to combine the refrigerant from the first branch and the refrigerant from the second branch to obtain a combined refrigerant, and after performing gas-liquid separation treatment on the combined refrigerant, the gaseous refrigerant is delivered to the compressor of the vehicle.

[0007] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a four-way reversing valve disposed between the compressor and the inlet of the passenger compartment evaporator; when the vehicle's thermal management system is in heat pump heating mode, the four-way reversing valve switches the refrigerant flow direction so that the passenger compartment evaporator performs a condensation function.

[0008] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the controller is further configured to control the first electronic expansion valve to adjust the actual outlet superheat of the battery cooler to a first target superheat, and to control the second electronic expansion valve to adjust the actual outlet superheat of the passenger compartment evaporator to a second target superheat.

[0009] A second aspect of this application provides a vehicle thermal management method, characterized in that it employs a vehicle thermal management system as described above, wherein the method includes the following steps: acquiring the actual battery temperature of the vehicle's power battery and the actual ambient temperature of the passenger compartment; determining a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery based on the actual battery temperature, and determining a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment based on the actual ambient temperature; adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch of the vehicle based on a first electronic pressure regulating valve of the first branch until the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch reaches the first target evaporation pressure; and adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch of the vehicle based on a second electronic pressure regulating valve of the second branch until the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch reaches the second target evaporation pressure.

[0010] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the method further includes: acquiring current operating data of the vehicle to determine the current operating mode of the vehicle based on the current operating data; and determining the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode.

[0011] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the method further includes: calculating a first pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch and the first target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode, and adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first pressure deviation; calculating a second pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch and the second target evaporation pressure, and adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second pressure deviation.

[0012] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the method further includes: obtaining the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler in the vehicle to determine a first actual superheat of the battery cooler; calculating a first superheat deviation between the first actual superheat and a first target superheat; adjusting the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the first branch according to the first superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the first branch reaches the first target superheat; obtaining the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the passenger compartment evaporator in the vehicle to determine a second actual superheat of the passenger compartment evaporator; calculating a second superheat deviation between the second actual superheat and the second target superheat; adjusting the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the second branch according to the second superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the second branch reaches the second target superheat.

[0013] A third aspect of this application provides a thermal management device for a vehicle, comprising: a first acquisition module for acquiring the actual battery temperature of the vehicle's power battery and the actual ambient temperature of the passenger compartment; a first determination module for determining a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery based on the actual battery temperature, and determining a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment based on the actual ambient temperature; and a management module for adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch of the vehicle based on a first electronic pressure regulating valve of the first branch until the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch reaches the first target evaporation pressure, and adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch of the vehicle based on a second electronic pressure regulating valve of the second branch until the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch reaches the second target evaporation pressure.

[0014] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a second acquisition module, configured to acquire the current operating data of the vehicle to determine the current operating mode of the vehicle based on the current operating data; and a second determination module, configured to determine the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode.

[0015] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a first calculation module, configured to calculate a first pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch and the first target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode, and adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first pressure deviation; and a second calculation module, configured to calculate a second pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch and the second target evaporation pressure, and adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second pressure deviation.

[0016] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the system further includes: a third acquisition module, configured to acquire the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler in the vehicle to determine a first actual superheat of the battery cooler; a third calculation module, configured to calculate a first superheat deviation between the first actual superheat and a first target superheat, and adjust the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the first branch according to the first superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the first branch reaches the first target superheat; a fourth acquisition module, configured to acquire the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the passenger compartment evaporator in the vehicle to determine a second actual superheat of the passenger compartment evaporator; and a fourth calculation module, configured to calculate a second superheat deviation between the second actual superheat and the second target superheat, and adjust the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the second branch according to the second superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the second branch reaches the second target superheat.

[0017] A fourth aspect of this application provides a vehicle, including: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the program to implement the thermal management method for the vehicle as described in the above embodiments.

[0018] A fifth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described vehicle thermal management method.

[0019] A sixth aspect of this application provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed, is used to implement the above-described vehicle thermal management method.

[0020] This application embodiment can establish a parallel first branch and a second branch, with each branch independently equipped with an electronic expansion valve and an electronic pressure regulating valve. This allows the two branches to operate at different evaporation temperatures, and the optimal evaporation pressure target value for each branch can be dynamically determined based on the vehicle's operating status signal. A dual closed-loop control system tracks the corresponding targets: the electronic pressure regulating valve stabilizes the evaporation pressure, and the electronic expansion valve regulates superheat. Thus, by constructing a dual parallel independent cooling branch architecture, a higher evaporation temperature is automatically allocated to the battery during fast charging to prioritize charging safety and efficiency, while maintaining comfortable cooling for the passenger compartment. This achieves precise cooling on demand, effectively balancing the cooling capacity and temperature between the power battery and the passenger compartment, ensuring a good user experience while maintaining stable pressure in the thermal management system. When the battery overheats, the cooling power of the passenger compartment can be temporarily limited, achieving thermal priority management. This significantly improves the energy efficiency, safety, and comfort of the vehicle's thermal management system, while also providing functional expansion capabilities such as heat pump heating and mode switching, effectively meeting the vehicle's comprehensive thermal management needs. This solves the problems in related technologies, such as the fact that the refrigerant circuit in the vehicle's thermal management system usually adopts a series mode or a switching mode, which makes it difficult to effectively balance the cooling and temperature balance between the power battery and the passenger compartment, reducing the user experience, and causing unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a large workload on the compressor, making it difficult to meet the vehicle's thermal management needs.

[0021] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle thermal management system according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the summer cooling operation mode of a four-way valve according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the winter heat pump operating mode of a four-way valve according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a cooling mode according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a heat pump mode according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 This is a flowchart of a vehicle thermal management method according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the high-temperature cooling mode of one embodiment of this application; Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a low-temperature heat pump mode according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle thermal management device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 10 This is a structural schematic diagram of a vehicle provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure label: 10-Thermal management system; 100-Control valve, 200-Controller, 300-First branch and 400-Second branch; 20-Vehicle thermal management device; 500-First acquisition module, 600-First determination module and 700-Management module; 1001-Memory, 1002-Processor and 1003-Communication interface. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application.

[0025] The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, outlines a thermal management system, method, vehicle, and computer-readable storage medium according to embodiments of this application. Addressing the issues raised in the background section regarding the refrigerant circuits in vehicle thermal management systems, which typically employ a series or switching mode, it is difficult to effectively balance the cooling and temperature equilibrium between the power battery and the passenger compartment. This reduces the user experience and leads to unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a heavy compressor workload, making it difficult to meet the vehicle's thermal management requirements. This application provides a vehicle thermal management method. In this method, a first and second branch can be established in parallel. Each branch is independently equipped with an electronic expansion valve and an electronic pressure regulating valve, allowing the two branches to operate at different evaporation temperatures. Furthermore, the optimal evaporation pressure target value for each branch can be dynamically determined based on the vehicle's operating status signal. A dual closed-loop control system tracks the corresponding targets: the electronic pressure regulating valve stabilizes the evaporation pressure, and the electronic expansion valve regulates superheat. These two valves work collaboratively through a decoupling algorithm, without interfering with each other. This invention achieves a dual-parallel independent cooling branch architecture, automatically allocating higher evaporation temperatures to the battery during fast charging to prioritize charging safety and efficiency, while simultaneously maintaining comfortable cooling for the passenger compartment. This enables precise, on-demand cooling, effectively balancing the cooling capacity and temperature between the power battery and the passenger compartment, ensuring a positive user experience while maintaining stable pressure in the thermal management system. When the battery overheats, the cooling power to the passenger compartment can be temporarily limited, achieving thermal priority management. This significantly improves the energy efficiency, safety, and comfort of the entire vehicle's thermal management system. It also features expanded functionalities such as heat pump heating and mode switching, effectively meeting the vehicle's comprehensive thermal management needs. This solves the problems in related technologies where the refrigerant circuit in the vehicle's thermal management system typically uses a series or switching mode, making it difficult to effectively balance the cooling capacity and temperature between the power battery and the passenger compartment, reducing user experience, and leading to unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a heavy compressor workload, making it difficult to meet the vehicle's thermal management requirements.

[0026] Specifically, Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle thermal management system provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0027] like Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle's thermal management system 10 includes: A control valve 100 is used to divide the refrigerant into a first refrigerant path and a second refrigerant path; a controller 200 is used to generate a first control signal based on a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the vehicle's power battery, and a second control signal based on a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment. Based on the first refrigerant path, the controller controls the first branch 300 to adjust its actual evaporation pressure to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first control signal; based on the second refrigerant path, the controller controls the second branch 400 to adjust its actual evaporation pressure to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second control signal. The first branch 300 includes a first electronic expansion valve, a battery cooler, and a first electronic pressure regulating valve connected in series; the second branch 400 includes a second electronic expansion valve, a passenger compartment evaporator, and a second electronic pressure regulating valve connected in series.

[0028] Understandably, in real-world applications, when the refrigerant circuit in a vehicle's thermal management system is in series, the system cannot independently control the temperature at both locations, resulting in a fixed distribution of cooling capacity and low efficiency.

[0029] When the refrigerant circuit in the vehicle's thermal management system uses a switching mode, the system can only switch between "battery cooling only," "passenger compartment cooling only," and "hybrid mode." Under extreme conditions such as DC fast charging, the battery generates a large amount of heat and urgently needs maximum cooling capacity; at the same time, the occupants also need air conditioning, and it is often impossible to effectively balance the requirements of both.

[0030] Furthermore, when the system frequently switches modes or operates in hybrid mode, it may lead to insufficient battery cooling. Because the battery's cooling capacity is diverted to the cabin, the battery cooling speed is slow, which will affect the battery's charging efficiency and may even pose a risk of thermal runaway. Similarly, because the cabin's cooling capacity is diverted to the battery, the air outlet temperature fluctuates greatly, which will affect the comfort of the passenger compartment and reduce the experience of the passengers. In addition, frequent switching of valve groups will cause large and unstable system pressure fluctuations, which will increase the workload of the compressor, increase energy consumption, and reduce reliability.

[0031] Based on this, this application provides a vehicle thermal management system 10, which is designed with a dual parallel cooperative cooling circuit: a first branch 300 and a second branch 400 in parallel. The two branches correspond to the battery cooler and the passenger compartment, respectively, and can operate at different evaporation temperatures at high and low temperatures at the same time, so as to eliminate the conflict between the cooling capacity and evaporation temperature setting between the battery cooling circuit and the passenger compartment cooling circuit.

[0032] The thermal management system 10 includes, but is not limited to, basic components such as a compressor, condenser, and expansion valve; and the hardware architecture of the dual parallel coordinated refrigeration circuit included in the thermal management system 10 is mainly based on dual electronic pressure regulating valves: the first branch (battery cooling branch): connected in sequence to the first electronic expansion valve, the battery cooler, and the first electronic pressure regulating valve; the second branch (passenger compartment refrigeration branch): connected in sequence to the second electronic expansion valve, the passenger compartment evaporator, and the second electronic pressure regulating valve.

[0033] The first electronic expansion valve (EXV1, serving the power battery) and the second electronic expansion valve (EXV2, serving the passenger compartment) are mainly used to regulate the refrigerant flow and control the superheat at the outlet. For example, they can throttle the high-pressure liquid refrigerant from the condenser into a low-pressure two-phase state (gas-liquid mixture), allowing it to evaporate and absorb heat after entering the battery cooler / passenger compartment evaporator.

[0034] Furthermore, both systems can dynamically adjust the opening degree based on the superheat (difference between actual temperature and evaporation temperature) at the battery cooler outlet and the actual passenger compartment evaporator outlet using algorithms such as PID control. This controls the refrigerant flow rate into the battery cooler, ensuring a certain superheat to guarantee that the refrigerant exiting the battery cooler is purely gaseous or contains a small amount of liquid, preventing liquid refrigerant from entering the compressor and causing liquid slugging damage. When battery heat generation increases (e.g., during fast charging), the electronic expansion valve opens wider to deliver more refrigerant; when battery temperature decreases, the opening decreases.

[0035] The battery cooler is mainly used to achieve heat exchange between the refrigerant and the battery coolant, while the crew compartment evaporator is used to cool the air entering the crew compartment.

[0036] The first electronic pressure regulating valve (EPR1) and the second electronic pressure regulating valve (EPR2) are primarily used to actively set and stabilize the evaporation pressure of the battery cooling branch and the passenger compartment cooling branch. Specifically, by adjusting the valve opening, they actively control the back pressure of their respective branches, thereby setting the evaporation pressure of that branch (and thus determining the evaporation temperature). The smaller the opening, the higher the back pressure and the higher the evaporation temperature; the larger the opening, the lower the back pressure and the lower the evaporation temperature. When the compressor speed fluctuates or other branches experience disturbances, both valves can quickly adjust their opening to resist disturbances in other branches, stabilizing the evaporation pressure of their respective branches near their target values ​​(the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure).

[0037] In summary, the controller 200 can determine the target evaporation pressure based on operating conditions (such as fast charging and cruise control). The first / second electronic pressure regulating valves are responsible for achieving this target pressure and establishing a stable evaporation environment. Under these conditions, the electronic expansion valve dynamically adjusts the flow rate according to the heat load to ensure heat exchange efficiency and safety. The electronic expansion valve and the electronic pressure regulating valve form a "dual closed-loop" control system, operating independently and working together to achieve precise control.

[0038] Specifically, the control valve 100 included in the thermal management system can divide the refrigerant into a first refrigerant path and a second refrigerant path. That is, after the refrigerant exits from the condenser outlet, it can be divided into two completely independent expansion, evaporation, and pressure regulation branches—the first branch and the second branch—through this control valve.

[0039] The controller 200 included in the thermal management system 10 can generate a first control signal based on a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery.

[0040] Here, the first target evaporation pressure can be understood as the evaporation pressure that the first branch should possess, calculated in real time by the controller 200 based on certain principles or standards. For example, the evaporation pressure that the first branch should possess, calculated according to the standard of "efficiently removing the huge heat generated by the battery while ensuring that the inlet temperature of the battery pack coolant is always higher than the dew point to prevent condensation".

[0041] The first control signal here can be understood as an electrical signal containing the first target evaporation pressure information sent to the first electronic pressure regulating valve when the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch is adjusted to the first target evaporation pressure.

[0042] Subsequently, the controller 200 can generate a signal based on the first refrigerant path and control the first branch 300 to adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch 300 to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first control signal. That is, the controller 200 can generate a corresponding electrical signal through the first target evaporation pressure and control the first electronic pressure regulating valve to maintain the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch 300 at the first target evaporation pressure.

[0043] Similarly, the controller 200 can also generate a second control signal based on the second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the crew compartment, and control the second branch 400 to adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch 400 to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second control signal based on the second refrigerant.

[0044] Here, the second target evaporation pressure can be understood as the evaporation pressure that the second branch should possess, calculated in real time by the controller 200 based on certain principles or standards. For example, the evaporation pressure that the second branch should possess, calculated according to the standard of "ensuring that the surface temperature of the evaporator in the passenger compartment is much lower than the dew point temperature of the air, so that the water vapor in the air can be fully condensed, which can both fully dehumidify and effectively cool."

[0045] The second control signal here can be understood as an electrical signal containing the second target evaporation pressure information sent to the second electronic pressure regulating valve when the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch is adjusted to the second target evaporation pressure.

[0046] Subsequently, the controller 200 can generate a second refrigerant based on the second refrigerant and control the second branch 400 to adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch 400 to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second control signal. That is, the controller 200 can generate a corresponding electrical signal through the second target evaporation pressure and control the second electronic pressure regulating valve to maintain the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch 400 at the second target evaporation pressure.

[0047] Among them, the second electronic pressure regulating valve in the first branch and the second pressure regulating valve in the second branch are electronic pressure regulating valves. They can receive electrical signals from the controller 200 to achieve stepless, precise and rapid adjustment of the opening degree, thereby actively setting and stabilizing the evaporation pressure of their respective branches.

[0048] When the controller 200 actually determines the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure, it can, but is not limited to, monitor various signals of the vehicle and their corresponding vehicle information in real time, such as DC fast charging signal, battery temperature and SOC, passenger compartment set temperature and ambient temperature, sunlight intensity, navigation path information (such as the slope ahead and the location of the charging station), and then use a preset expert rule base or model predictive control algorithm to dynamically determine the optimal evaporation pressure target value for the two branches and allocate it to the two branches.

[0049] For example, in summer DC fast charging scenarios (which require cooling), the battery branch evaporation pressure is set to high pressure (corresponding to 10°C) to improve energy efficiency and prevent evaporator frost, while the passenger compartment branch is set to low pressure (corresponding to 2°C) to ensure rapid cooling of the passenger compartment. In high-speed cruising scenarios, the target evaporation pressure of the battery branch is dynamically lowered according to the battery temperature to enhance cooling, and the target evaporation pressure of the passenger compartment branch is appropriately increased according to comfort requirements to improve energy efficiency and prevent frost.

[0050] The specific expert rule base and model predictive control algorithm can be set or adjusted by professionals in this field according to the actual situation. The embodiments in this application are only illustrative and do not impose specific limitations.

[0051] For example, the controller 200 can obtain the first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the first branch of the power battery and the second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the second branch of the passenger compartment by calling the internally stored "optimal evaporation temperature mapping table" (expert rule base). The optimal evaporation temperature mapping table can be obtained by those skilled in the art through prior bench tests and simulation optimization. In this embodiment, it is only used as an example and is not intended to impose any specific limitations.

[0052] For example, in the battery cooling branch (first branch): the goal is to achieve high-efficiency cooling rather than deep cooling. Excessively low evaporation temperatures can lead to a decrease in energy efficiency and may cause the temperature of the battery liquid cooling circuit exchanging with the chiller to be too low, resulting in condensation on the battery pack surface and posing a safety risk. Therefore, the controller 200 can set the target evaporation pressure of the first electronic pressure regulating valve to an absolute pressure of 0.68 MPa (according to the saturated property table of R134a, this pressure corresponds to a saturated evaporation temperature of approximately 10°C). At this temperature, the enormous heat generated by the battery can be efficiently removed, while ensuring that the battery pack coolant inlet temperature remains above the dew point to prevent condensation, and the energy efficiency of this cycle is very high.

[0053] For example, in the occupant compartment cooling branch (second branch): the goal is to achieve rapid cooling and powerful dehumidification to ensure occupant comfort. Therefore, a low evaporation temperature is required. The controller sets the target evaporation pressure of the second electronic pressure regulating valve to 0.29 MPa absolute pressure, corresponding to a saturated evaporation temperature of approximately 2°C. This temperature ensures that the surface temperature of the evaporator in the occupant compartment is well below the dew point temperature of the air, allowing water vapor in the air to condense fully, achieving excellent dehumidification and providing strong cooling capacity.

[0054] It should be noted that when the battery temperature approaches the safety threshold, the controller 200 can instruct a temporary limitation on the cooling power of the occupant compartment branch, prioritizing the allocation of system resources to battery cooling.

[0055] This embodiment effectively solves the problem of heat competition between the power battery and the passenger compartment in a vehicle through a parallel and coordinated cooling circuit—the first branch 300 and the second branch 400—achieving "precise cooling on demand." Under extreme conditions such as fast charging, this embodiment can simultaneously provide maximum cooling capacity to both while maintaining passenger compartment comfort. Furthermore, since the battery cooling branch operates at a higher evaporation temperature, its cooling cycle energy efficiency ratio can be higher than that of traditional systems. Therefore, the independent parallel design in this embodiment can indirectly extend the vehicle's driving range.

[0056] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a condenser, which is connected to the first branch and the second branch respectively through control valves for conveying refrigerant, wherein the control valve is a three-way solenoid valve; and a gas-liquid separator, the inlet of which is connected to the outlet of the first electronic pressure regulating valve and the outlet of the second electronic pressure regulating valve respectively, for receiving the refrigerant from the first branch and the second branch, so as to merge the refrigerant from the first branch and the second branch to obtain the merged refrigerant, and after performing gas-liquid separation treatment on the merged refrigerant, the gaseous refrigerant is delivered to the compressor of the vehicle.

[0057] Based on the descriptions of other embodiments, it will be understood that this application can use a control valve to divide the refrigerant into a first refrigerant stream and a second refrigerant stream.

[0058] The refrigerant originates from the condenser, which is connected to the first branch 300 and the second branch 400 via control valve 100. Control valve 100 can be a three-way solenoid valve. That is, after the refrigerant exits the condenser, the main refrigerant path can flow to the first and second branches via a three-way solenoid valve.

[0059] Furthermore, in order to improve the reliability of the system, the thermal management system 10 in this embodiment of the application also includes a gas-liquid separator. The inlet of the gas-liquid separator is connected to the outlet of the first electronic pressure regulating valve and the outlet of the second electronic pressure regulating valve, respectively, and the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is connected to the compressor.

[0060] Therefore, the refrigerant from the first branch 300 (battery cooling branch) and the second branch 400 (passenger compartment cooling branch) will merge and flow into a gas-liquid separator after passing through their respective electronic pressure regulating valves. After the merged refrigerant undergoes gas-liquid separation in the gas-liquid separator, it can ensure that pure refrigerant gas is drawn into the compressor, effectively preventing liquid slugging and improving system life and reliability.

[0061] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a four-way reversing valve disposed between the compressor and the inlet of the passenger compartment evaporator; when the vehicle's thermal management system is in heat pump heating mode, the four-way reversing valve switches the refrigerant flow direction so that the passenger compartment evaporator performs the condensation function.

[0062] As one possible implementation, this application also adds a four-way reversing valve to the thermal management system 10. This four-way reversing valve is located between the compressor exhaust pipe and the evaporator inlet of the passenger compartment, so that the thermal management system 10 in this embodiment can also be configured for global thermal management.

[0063] Specifically, in low-temperature environments (such as outdoor winter), the vehicle's thermal management system is in heat pump heating mode. This application can switch the four-way reversing valve to convert the passenger compartment evaporator into a condenser (as an indoor condenser), so that the passenger compartment evaporator performs the condensation function to heat the cabin. At this time, the system is running in heat pump heating mode.

[0064] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the summer cooling operation mode of a four-way valve according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the winter heat pump operating mode of a four-way valve according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the four-way valve has four ports: two for connecting to the external heat exchanger and the crew compartment heat exchanger in the heat management system 10, and two for connecting to the compressor. These ports can be represented as: C (for connecting to the external heat exchanger), E (for connecting to the crew compartment heat exchanger), D (for connecting to the compressor exhaust port), and S (for connecting to the compressor suction port).

[0065] Regardless of summer or winter, port D is always the inlet for high-pressure exhaust, and port S is always the outlet for low-pressure return air. Ports C and E, depending on the season, alternate between being the outlet for exhaust or the inlet for intake.

[0066] Specifically, when the vehicle is in cooling mode during summer, the four-way reversing valve is not energized and remains in its default position. At this time, high-pressure hot gas discharged from the compressor flows in through port D and out through port C, entering the external heat exchanger (which functions as a condenser at this time) to release heat. Low-pressure cold gas from the passenger compartment evaporator flows in through port E and out through port S, returning to the compressor; the return path is port E → port S.

[0067] When the vehicle is in heat pump mode during winter, the four-way reversing valve is energized, and the internal slider moves to another position. High-pressure hot gas discharged from the compressor flows in through port D and out through port E, entering the passenger compartment heat exchanger (which functions as an indoor condenser at this time) to release heat. Meanwhile, low-pressure cold gas from the external heat exchanger (which functions as an evaporator at this time) flows in through port C and out through port S, returning to the compressor; the return path is port C → port S.

[0068] Additionally, by introducing waste heat from components such as motors and electronic controls into the liquid cooling circuit for battery cooling, and exchanging heat with the refrigerant circuit through the battery cooler, the thermal management system 10 in this embodiment can also achieve waste heat recovery.

[0069] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the controller 200 is further configured to control the first electronic expansion valve to adjust the actual outlet superheat of the battery cooler to a first target superheat, and to control the second electronic expansion valve to adjust the actual outlet superheat of the passenger compartment evaporator to a second target superheat.

[0070] In some embodiments, the thermal management system 10 of this application also includes a superheat control function. Superheat refers to the temperature difference between the actual temperature of the refrigerant vapor at the evaporator outlet and its saturation temperature at that pressure. When the superheat is too low (e.g., close to 0°C), liquid may be present at the evaporator outlet. Liquid refrigerant entering the compressor can cause liquid slugging and damage the compressor. Conversely, excessively high superheat indicates insufficient refrigerant flow, meaning the evaporator is not being fully utilized, leading to lower system heat exchange efficiency and reduced cooling capacity. Therefore, the system must control the superheat at a reasonable, preset target value (e.g., 5°C).

[0071] Therefore, the embodiments of this application can adjust the outlet superheat of the battery cooler and the crew compartment evaporator to a stable target value through the first electronic expansion valve and the second electronic expansion valve.

[0072] Here, the first target superheat (corresponding to the battery cooler) can be understood as the target value that the refrigerant superheat at the outlet of the battery cooler should reach, which is pre-set for the first branch (battery cooling branch).

[0073] The second target superheat (corresponding to the crew compartment evaporator) can be understood here as the target value that the refrigerant superheat at the outlet of the crew compartment evaporator should reach, set for the second branch (crew compartment refrigeration branch).

[0074] The specific first and second target superheat values ​​can be set or adjusted by those skilled in the art according to actual conditions. The embodiments in this application are only illustrative and do not impose specific limitations.

[0075] Specifically, the controller 200 in this application embodiment can compare the actual outlet superheat of the battery cooler with a first target superheat.

[0076] If the actual outlet temperature of the battery cooler is higher than the first target superheat, it indicates that the refrigerant flow in the first branch is insufficient. At this time, the controller 200 can output a positive increment through the PID to instruct the first electronic expansion valve to increase its opening and increase the refrigerant flow.

[0077] If the actual outlet of the battery cooler is lower than the first target superheat, there may be a risk of liquid slugging. In this case, the controller 200 can output a negative increment through the PID to instruct the first electronic expansion valve to reduce its opening and reduce the refrigerant flow.

[0078] Similarly, the controller 200 in this embodiment can compare the actual outlet superheat of the crew compartment evaporator with the second target superheat.

[0079] If the actual outlet superheat of the crew compartment evaporator is higher than the second target superheat, it indicates that the refrigerant flow in the second branch is insufficient. At this time, the controller 200 can output a positive increment through the PID to instruct the second electronic expansion valve to increase the opening and increase the refrigerant flow.

[0080] If the actual outlet superheat of the crew compartment evaporator is lower than the second target superheat, there may be a risk of liquid slugging. In this case, the controller 200 can output a negative increment through the PID to instruct the second electronic expansion valve to reduce its opening and reduce the refrigerant flow.

[0081] In summary, either the first branch or the second branch in the embodiments of this application can form a dual closed-loop control system with an electronic expansion valve and an electronic pressure regulating valve as actuators.

[0082] Among them, the electronic expansion valve control loop is mainly used to adjust its opening degree with the evaporator outlet superheat as the control target, so as to ensure heat exchange efficiency and prevent liquid slugging.

[0083] The electronic pressure regulating valve control loop is mainly used to adjust its opening degree by taking the target evaporation pressure set above as the control target and using the PID algorithm to stabilize the evaporation environment of the branch.

[0084] The two control loops are coordinated through the controller's decoupling algorithm to ensure that flow regulation and pressure regulation do not interfere with each other, achieving fast, accurate and stable control.

[0085] The following provides a detailed description of the operation of the refrigerant circuit of the thermal management system 10 in low-temperature and high-temperature environments.

[0086] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a cooling mode according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 4 As shown, in high-temperature environments (such as summer), the thermal management system 10 mainly operates in cooling mode. In this mode, the compressor EDC compresses the low-pressure refrigerant gas into high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas, which flows into the four-way reversing valve 4WV, entering from port D and exiting from port C. Then, the high-temperature, high-pressure gas enters the external heat exchanger condenser COND for condensation and heat release, becoming high-pressure refrigerant liquid that enters the liquid receiver TK. Then, it is split into two streams: one stream passes through the first electronic expansion valve EEV1 for throttling and pressure reduction, the battery cooler CHILLER for evaporative heat exchange, and the first electronic pressure regulating valve EPRV1 for temperature regulation, finally becoming low-pressure gas and returning to the compressor EDC; the other stream passes through the second electronic expansion valve EEV2 for throttling and pressure reduction, the passenger compartment heat exchanger EVAP for evaporative heat exchange, and the second electronic pressure regulating valve EPRV2 for temperature regulation, finally becoming low-pressure gas and returning to the compressor EDC via the gas-liquid separator.

[0087] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a heat pump mode according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 5 As shown, in low-temperature environments (such as winter), the thermal management system 10 mainly operates in heat pump mode. In this mode, the compressor EDC compresses the low-pressure refrigerant gas into high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas, which flows into the four-way reversing valve 4WV, entering from port D and exiting from port E. Then, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas enters the passenger compartment heat exchanger EVAP for condensation and heat release, becoming high-pressure refrigerant liquid that enters the liquid receiver tank TK. Then, it is split into two streams: one stream passes through the first electronic expansion valve EEV1 for throttling and pressure reduction, the battery cooler CHILLER for evaporative heat exchange, and the first electronic pressure regulating valve EPRV1 for temperature regulation, finally becoming low-pressure gas and returning to the compressor EDC; the other stream passes through the second electronic expansion valve EEV2 for throttling and pressure reduction, the external condenser COND for evaporative heat exchange, and the second electronic pressure regulating valve EPRV2 for temperature regulation, finally becoming low-pressure gas and returning to the compressor EDC.

[0088] According to the vehicle thermal management system proposed in this application, a first branch and a second branch can be established in parallel. Each branch is independently equipped with an electronic expansion valve and an electronic pressure regulating valve, allowing the two branches to operate at different evaporation temperatures. This achieves a dual-parallel independent cooling branch architecture, enabling the vehicle's battery cooling branch to operate at a higher evaporation temperature and the passenger compartment cooling branch to operate at a lower evaporation temperature under extreme conditions such as DC fast charging. This ensures rapid cooling and dehumidification comfort, achieving precise cooling on demand. It effectively balances the cooling capacity and temperature between the power battery and the passenger compartment, providing an independent and optimal evaporation temperature environment for battery cooling and passenger compartment cooling. While ensuring a good user experience, it effectively maintains the pressure stability of the thermal management system and has functional expansion capabilities such as heat pump heating and mode switching, effectively meeting the vehicle's comprehensive thermal management needs. This solves the problems in related technologies, such as the fact that the refrigerant circuit in the vehicle's thermal management system usually adopts a series mode or a switching mode, which makes it difficult to effectively balance the cooling and temperature balance between the power battery and the passenger compartment, reducing the user experience, and causing unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a large workload on the compressor, making it difficult to meet the vehicle's thermal management needs.

[0089] Next, referring to the accompanying drawings, a vehicle thermal management method according to an embodiment of this application is described.

[0090] Specifically, Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle thermal management method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0091] like Figure 6 As shown, the thermal management method for this vehicle adopts the thermal management system 10 in the previous embodiment, and the method includes the following steps: Step S601: Obtain the actual battery temperature of the vehicle's power battery and the actual ambient temperature of the passenger compartment.

[0092] Step S602: Based on the actual battery temperature, determine the first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery, and based on the actual ambient temperature, determine the second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment.

[0093] Step S603: Based on the first electronic pressure regulating valve of the first branch in the vehicle, adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch in the vehicle until the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch in the vehicle reaches the first target evaporation pressure. Based on the second electronic pressure regulating valve of the second branch in the vehicle, adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch in the vehicle until the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch in the vehicle reaches the second target evaporation pressure.

[0094] As one possible approach, when performing thermal management on a vehicle, this application can first obtain the actual battery temperature of the vehicle's power battery and the actual ambient temperature of the passenger compartment, so as to determine the first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery in the first branch and the second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment in the second branch based on the two.

[0095] The interpretation of the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure, as well as their actual determination methods, are the same as those described in the previous embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0096] In determining the first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery in the first branch, the embodiments of this application can adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch by adjusting the first electronic pressure regulating valve of the first branch until the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch reaches the first target evaporation pressure.

[0097] Furthermore, after determining the second target evaporation pressure in the second branch corresponding to the crew compartment, the embodiments of this application can adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch by adjusting the first electronic pressure regulating valve of the second branch until the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch reaches the second target evaporation pressure.

[0098] In simple terms, the controller 200 can dynamically determine the optimal evaporation pressure target values ​​for the first and second branches by using a preset expert rule base (such as an internally stored "optimal evaporation temperature mapping table") or a model predictive control algorithm, and allocate corresponding electrical signals to the first and second electronic pressure regulating valves in the two branches. The first and second electronic pressure regulating valves can actively set and stabilize the evaporation pressure of the battery cooling branch and the passenger compartment cooling branch to the corresponding target pressure values ​​(first target evaporation pressure and second target evaporation pressure) by adjusting the valve opening.

[0099] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the method further includes: acquiring current operating data of the vehicle to determine the current operating mode of the vehicle based on the current operating data; and determining a first target evaporation pressure and a second target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode.

[0100] Understandably, the thermal management system 10 can perform thermal management in two modes: a heat pump mode for low-temperature environments and a cooling mode for high-temperature environments. The actual management actions of the thermal management system 10 will differ depending on the mode.

[0101] In some embodiments, when determining the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure, this application may first determine the current operating mode of the vehicle based on the vehicle's current operating data.

[0102] Here, the vehicle's current operating data can be understood as various data related to the vehicle's current operating status. For example, charging signals, user requests, state of charge, charging power requests, etc. The current operating mode can be understood as the management mode currently implemented by the thermal management system 10, such as a low-temperature cooling mode (e.g., the "DC fast charging-high load cooling" mode in summer cooling) or a high-temperature heat pump mode (e.g., winter heating).

[0103] For example, when the vehicle is connected to a DC fast charging gun, charging communication signals (such as CCS or CHAdeMO protocol signals) are sent to the vehicle main controller and the thermal management domain controller 200 of the thermal management system 10. Almost simultaneously: The battery management system calculates the maximum cooling power required to ensure charging speed and safety based on the battery's current temperature, state of charge, and charging power request, and sends it to the thermal management domain controller via the CAN bus. The air conditioning controller calculates the required cooling load for the passenger compartment based on the target interior temperature set by the occupants (e.g., 22°C), the current interior temperature, and the ambient temperature. The thermal management domain controller 200 integrates these signals and can instantly identify the operating conditions, determining that the current mode is "DC fast charging - high load cooling".

[0104] For example, on a winter morning with an ambient temperature of -5°C, a user gets into the car and starts the vehicle, setting the interior temperature to 24°C. Meanwhile, the battery temperature is low (e.g., 0°C) and needs preheating to ensure charging and discharging performance. At this time, the thermal management domain controller 200, based on the ambient temperature and the passenger compartment set temperature, identifies the need for heating and can issue a command to drive the four-way reversing valve to switch.

[0105] This causes the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor to no longer flow to the condenser at the front of the vehicle, but instead to flow directly to the passenger compartment heat exchanger via the four-way reversing valve (at this time, the function of the passenger compartment heat exchanger becomes the indoor condenser). After the refrigerant releases heat and condenses in the passenger compartment heat exchanger, the flow direction of the refrigerant changes, and it will eventually flow to the battery cooler and the external heat exchanger (at this time, the function of the external heat exchanger becomes the evaporator).

[0106] After identifying the vehicle's current operating mode, the controller 200 can set a first target evaporation pressure and a second target evaporation pressure according to the cooling or heating demand corresponding to the current operating mode, so that the first branch and the second branch can perform dual-loop independent closed-loop control according to the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure.

[0107] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the method further includes: calculating a first pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch and the first target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode, and adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first pressure deviation; calculating a second pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch and the second target evaporation pressure, and adjusting the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second pressure deviation.

[0108] In some embodiments, after determining the vehicle's current operating mode, the controller 200 can calculate the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure and issue commands to start devices such as the compressor and condenser fan. The thermal management system 10 starts operating, and the first and second branches enter their respective independent precision control cycles.

[0109] For example, Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the high-temperature cooling mode of one embodiment of this application. Figure 7 As shown, when the vehicle's current operating mode is a low-temperature cooling mode, such as "DC fast charging - high load cooling" mode, the controller 200 can make upper-level decisions, and the first electronic pressure regulating valve EPRV1 can execute the evaporation pressure control of the lower-level first branch (battery cooling). The process can be, but is not limited to, represented as follows: Sensor feedback: The refrigerant temperature and pressure sensor PT1, installed at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler, continuously collects data.

[0110] Deviation calculation: The controller 200 compares the actual evaporation pressure at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler read by PT1 (e.g., the initial pressure is 0.8 MPa) with the first target evaporation pressure (0.68 MPa) and calculates the first pressure deviation e_p1.

[0111] PID control: The first pressure deviation e_p1 is input into a PID control algorithm dedicated to EPRV1. This algorithm calculates the control quantity—that is, the opening increment that the EPRV1 valve core needs to adjust—based on the magnitude, integral, and derivative of the deviation.

[0112] If the actual pressure is higher than the target, the PID outputs a positive increment, and the controller 200 instructs EPRV1 to increase the opening degree, reducing the flow resistance of the first branch and causing the evaporation pressure to drop rapidly, approaching the target. If the actual pressure is lower than the target, the opening degree is reduced, increasing the pressure.

[0113] The control logic for the evaporation pressure control process of the second branch (passenger compartment cooling) is the same as that of the first branch, except that it operates at a second target evaporation pressure value that is different from the first target evaporation pressure. It is necessary to calculate the second pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch and the second target evaporation pressure, which will not be repeated here. For example, the second electronic pressure regulating valve (EPRV2) uses the actual pressure fed back by P2 and is stabilized at the second target evaporation pressure value of 0.29 MPa through PID regulation.

[0114] Because the sampling and calculation cycles of the first and second electronic pressure regulating valves are extremely short, the dynamic stability of the evaporation pressure of the first and second branches can be effectively ensured.

[0115] For example, Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a low-temperature heat pump mode according to one embodiment of this application. Figure 8 As shown, when the vehicle is currently operating in low-temperature heat pump mode, the strategy of controller 200 will become more complex, requiring coordination of multiple heat sources and heat loads.

[0116] First, in low-temperature heat pump mode, there are two control objectives: one is to quickly heat the passenger compartment: the controller 200 can be set to a high condensing pressure target (corresponding to a condensing temperature of about 45°C) to provide sufficient heating; the other is to heat the battery, in which case the system waste heat can be used first.

[0117] The specific decision-making logic is as follows: Controller 200 checks the coolant temperature of components such as the motor and electronic control system. If the temperature is higher than the battery temperature, the waste heat is guided to the liquid cooling circuit of the battery cooler through pumps and valves.

[0118] The heat source priority is as follows: the system prioritizes using waste heat to heat the battery; when waste heat is insufficient, the high-voltage PTC heater will be considered for activation.

[0119] At this time, the thermal management system 10 forms a new parallel loop in low-temperature heat pump mode: First branch (battery heat recovery branch): When the refrigerant flows through the battery cooler, it is used as an evaporator to absorb waste heat from the motor and electronic control. The controller 200 sets a suitable evaporation pressure target (e.g., corresponding to an evaporation temperature of 0°C) for the electronic pressure regulating valve of this branch to efficiently absorb heat from the liquid cooling circuit.

[0120] The second branch (ambient heat absorption branch): An external heat exchanger acts as another evaporator, absorbing heat from the environment. Due to the low ambient temperature (-5°C), the controller sets a lower target evaporation pressure for it (e.g., corresponding to an evaporation temperature of -10°C) and needs to prevent frost formation.

[0121] At this point, the first and second branches become two evaporation branches, which can independently control their evaporation pressure and superheat through their respective electronic expansion valves (EEV) and electronic pressure regulating valves (EPRV) to optimize the heat absorption efficiency from different heat sources (waste heat, environment).

[0122] It should be noted that the compressor speed at this time can be determined by the heating demand (target condensing pressure) of the passenger compartment. Furthermore, if the waste heat from the power battery is very sufficient at this time, and may even fully meet the heating demand of the passenger compartment, the EEV of the second branch (ambient heat absorption branch) may be reduced. That is, at this time, the thermal management system 10 in this application is actually operating in a "single battery heat source heat pump" mode, which has extremely high energy efficiency.

[0123] After the vehicle has been driven for a period of time, the battery temperature has risen to the optimal operating range, and the waste heat from the motor and electronic control has decreased. At this time, the thermal management system 10 will automatically reduce its reliance on the battery heat recovery branch and gradually increase the weight of the environmental heat absorption branch, thereby achieving seamless and smooth switching between different heat sources and ensuring the heating comfort of the passenger compartment throughout the entire process.

[0124] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the method further includes: obtaining the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler in the vehicle to determine a first actual superheat of the battery cooler; calculating a first superheat deviation between the first actual superheat and a first target superheat; adjusting the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the first branch according to the first superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the first branch reaches the first target superheat; obtaining the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the passenger compartment evaporator in the vehicle to determine a second actual superheat of the passenger compartment evaporator; calculating a second superheat deviation between the second actual superheat and the second target superheat; adjusting the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the second branch according to the second superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the second branch reaches the second target superheat.

[0125] In other embodiments, the present application embodiments can also control the overheating of the first branch (battery cooling) and the second branch (crew compartment cooling): For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, when the vehicle's current operating mode is low-temperature cooling mode, such as "DC fast charging - high load cooling" mode, the overheat control of the first branch can be executed by the first electronic expansion valve EEV1. The control process can be, but is not limited to, represented as follows: Superheat Calculation: The controller 200 synchronously reads the refrigerant temperature T1 and the actual evaporation pressure P1 at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler. Using the pressure P1 and the R134a property table, the saturated evaporation temperature Tsat1 at that pressure P1 can be obtained. Therefore, the first actual superheat at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler is: SH1 = T1 (actual temperature of refrigerant) - Tsat1.

[0126] Target superheat setting: To ensure heat exchange efficiency and prevent liquid slugging, the thermal management system 10 can set a first target superheat for the battery cooler. Here, the first target superheat can be understood as the optimal superheat target at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler, such as 5°C.

[0127] PID control: The controller 200 calculates the first superheat deviation e_sh1 between the first actual superheat SH1 at the current refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler and the first target superheat, and adjusts the opening of the first electronic expansion valve EEV1 through another PID algorithm.

[0128] If SH1 is too high, it indicates that the refrigerant flow is insufficient. The PID outputs a positive increment, instructing EEV1 to increase the opening degree and increase the flow. If SH1 is too low, there is a risk of liquid slugging. Therefore, the opening degree is reduced until the actual superheat of the first branch reaches the first target superheat.

[0129] In traditional scenarios, the action of EPRV1 affects the evaporation pressure, thus affecting the superheat; the action of EEV1 affects the flow rate and may also slightly affect the pressure. However, the control algorithm of the thermal management system 10 in this application, through feedforward compensation or decoupling algorithms, enables the electronic expansion valve and the electronic pressure regulating valve to work together without interfering with each other, quickly stabilizing the system at the optimal operating point (e.g., "P=0.68MPa, SH=5℃").

[0130] Therefore, in the case of the heat generated by the battery during traditional fast charging, which first increases and then decreases as the SOC increases, the thermal management system 10 in this embodiment can perfectly adapt to this change: When the battery heat generation peaks, the BMS may request higher cooling power. At this time, the controller 200 can fine-tune the target pressure of EPRV1 to 0.65 MPa (corresponding to 8°C) to provide a greater heat transfer temperature difference; the first electronic expansion valve and the first electronic pressure regulating valve will respond immediately and make automatic adjustments to achieve a smooth transition.

[0131] Meanwhile, the crew compartment branch line remains completely unaffected, continuing to operate stably at an evaporation temperature of 2°C, delivering cool air at a constant temperature.

[0132] Throughout the entire thermal management process, there is no mode switching of any valves. Only the electronic expansion valve and electronic pressure regulating valve maintain continuous fine-tuning of the set point, ensuring stable system pressure, stable compressor load, and optimized energy consumption.

[0133] And, such as Figure 8 As shown, the control logic of the superheat control process of the second branch (passenger compartment cooling) is the same as that of the first branch. However, it operates at a different second target superheat. It is necessary to obtain the refrigerant temperature T2 and evaporation pressure P2 at the refrigerant outlet of the passenger compartment evaporator to determine the second actual superheat SH2 of the passenger compartment evaporator. Then, the second superheat deviation between the second actual superheat and the second target superheat at the refrigerant outlet of the passenger compartment evaporator is calculated. Based on the second superheat deviation, the opening of the second electronic expansion valve (EEV2) is adjusted by PID control to adjust the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the second branch until the actual superheat of the second branch reaches the second target superheat and stabilizes it at the optimal superheat target of the passenger compartment evaporator, such as 4°C. This will not be repeated here.

[0134] Here, the second target superheat can be understood as the optimal superheat target at the refrigerant outlet of the evaporator in the crew compartment, such as 4°C.

[0135] It should be noted that the first target superheat and the second target superheat can be set or adjusted by those skilled in the art according to the actual situation and needs. The embodiments in this application are only illustrative and do not impose any specific limitations.

[0136] According to the vehicle thermal management method proposed in this application, the upper-level target decision layer dynamically determines the optimal evaporation pressure target value for each of the two branches based on the vehicle's operating status signal. The lower-level collaborative execution layer tracks the corresponding targets through dual closed-loop control: the electronic pressure regulating valve is responsible for stabilizing the evaporation pressure, and the electronic expansion valve is responsible for regulating the superheat. The two work together through a decoupling algorithm without interfering with each other. Thus, through a dual-layer control strategy, the system actively senses the vehicle's environmental conditions and predicts demand, thereby dynamically and adaptively adjusting the operating parameters of each loop and autonomously making optimal decisions based on the complex and ever-changing thermal load requirements of the entire vehicle. During fast charging, it can automatically allocate a higher evaporation temperature to the battery to prioritize charging safety and efficiency, while maintaining comfortable cooling for the passenger compartment. When the battery overheats, the cooling power of the passenger compartment can be temporarily limited to achieve thermal priority management, significantly improving the energy efficiency, safety, and comfort of the vehicle's thermal management system. Furthermore, the thermal management system in this application has functional expansion capabilities such as heat pump heating and waste heat recovery, effectively meeting the vehicle's full-domain thermal management needs and achieving optimal energy efficiency and performance under all operating conditions. This solves the problems in related technologies, such as the fact that the refrigerant circuit in the vehicle's thermal management system usually adopts a series mode or a switching mode, which makes it difficult to effectively balance the cooling and temperature balance between the power battery and the passenger compartment, reducing the user experience, and causing unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a large workload on the compressor, making it difficult to meet the vehicle's thermal management needs.

[0137] Next, the thermal management device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of this application is described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0138] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the thermal management device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of this application.

[0139] like Figure 9 As shown, the vehicle's thermal management device 20 includes: a first acquisition module 100, used to acquire the actual battery temperature of the vehicle's power battery and the actual ambient temperature of the passenger compartment; a first determination module 200, used to determine a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery based on the actual battery temperature, and to determine a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment based on the actual ambient temperature; and a management module 300, used to adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch of the vehicle based on a first electronic pressure regulating valve of a first branch of the vehicle until the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch reaches the first target evaporation pressure, and to adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch of the vehicle based on a second electronic pressure regulating valve of a second branch of the vehicle until the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch reaches the second target evaporation pressure.

[0140] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a second acquisition module, configured to acquire the current operating data of the vehicle to determine the current operating mode of the vehicle based on the current operating data; and a second determination module, configured to determine the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode.

[0141] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, it further includes: a first calculation module, configured to calculate a first pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch and the first target evaporation pressure based on the current operating mode, and adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first pressure deviation; and a second calculation module, configured to calculate a second pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch and the second target evaporation pressure, and adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second pressure deviation.

[0142] Optionally, in one embodiment of this application, the system further includes: a third acquisition module, configured to acquire the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler in the vehicle to determine a first actual superheat of the battery cooler; a third calculation module, configured to calculate a first superheat deviation between the first actual superheat and a first target superheat, and adjust the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the first branch according to the first superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the first branch reaches the first target superheat; a fourth acquisition module, configured to acquire the refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the passenger compartment evaporator in the vehicle to determine a second actual superheat of the passenger compartment evaporator; and a fourth calculation module, configured to calculate a second superheat deviation between the second actual superheat and the second target superheat, and adjust the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the second branch according to the second superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the second branch reaches the second target superheat.

[0143] It should be noted that the foregoing explanation of the vehicle thermal management method embodiment also applies to the vehicle thermal management device of this embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0144] According to the vehicle thermal management device proposed in this application, the upper-level target decision layer dynamically determines the optimal evaporation pressure target value for each of the two branches based on the vehicle's operating status signal. The lower-level collaborative execution layer tracks the corresponding targets through dual closed-loop control: the electronic pressure regulating valve is responsible for stabilizing the evaporation pressure, and the electronic expansion valve is responsible for regulating the superheat. The two work together through a decoupling algorithm without interfering with each other. Thus, through a dual-layer control strategy, the device actively senses the vehicle's environmental conditions and predicts demand, thereby dynamically and adaptively adjusting the operating parameters of each loop and autonomously making optimal decisions based on the complex and ever-changing thermal load requirements of the entire vehicle. During fast charging, it can automatically allocate a higher evaporation temperature to the battery to prioritize charging safety and efficiency, while maintaining comfortable cooling for the passenger compartment. When the battery overheats, it can temporarily limit the cooling power of the passenger compartment, achieving thermal priority management and significantly improving the energy efficiency, safety, and comfort of the vehicle's thermal management system. Furthermore, the thermal management system in this application has functional expansion capabilities such as heat pump heating and waste heat recovery, effectively meeting the vehicle's full-domain thermal management needs and achieving optimal energy efficiency and performance under all operating conditions. This solves the problems in related technologies, such as the fact that the refrigerant circuit in the vehicle's thermal management system usually adopts a series mode or a switching mode, which makes it difficult to effectively balance the cooling and temperature balance between the power battery and the passenger compartment, reducing the user experience, and causing unstable system pressure, high energy consumption, and a large workload on the compressor, making it difficult to meet the vehicle's thermal management needs.

[0145] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle provided in an embodiment of this application. The vehicle may include: The memory 1001, the processor 1002, and the computer program stored on the memory 1001 and capable of running on the processor 1002.

[0146] When the processor 1002 executes the program, it implements the vehicle thermal management method provided in the above embodiments.

[0147] Furthermore, the vehicle also includes: Communication interface 1003 is used for communication between memory 1001 and processor 1002.

[0148] The memory 1001 is used to store computer programs that can run on the processor 1002.

[0149] The memory 1001 may include high-speed RAM memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device.

[0150] If the memory 1001, processor 1002, and communication interface 1003 are implemented independently, then the communication interface 1003, memory 1001, and processor 1002 can be interconnected via a bus to complete communication between them. The bus can be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. Buses can be categorized into address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 10 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0151] Optionally, in a specific implementation, if the memory 1001, processor 1002, and communication interface 1003 are integrated on a single chip, then the memory 1001, processor 1002, and communication interface 1003 can communicate with each other through an internal interface.

[0152] The processor 1002 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of this application.

[0153] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described vehicle thermal management method.

[0154] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that can execute computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the vehicle thermal management method provided in this application.

[0155] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0156] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this application, "N" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0157] Any process or method described in the flowchart or otherwise herein can be understood as representing a module, segment, or portion of code comprising one or N executable instructions for implementing custom logic functions or processes, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of this application includes additional implementations in which functions may be performed not in the order shown or discussed, including substantially simultaneously or in reverse order depending on the functions involved, as should be understood by those skilled in the art to which embodiments of this application pertain.

[0158] The logic and / or steps represented in the flowchart or otherwise described herein, for example, can be considered as a sequenced list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, and can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (such as a computer-based system, a processor-included system, or other system that can fetch and execute instructions from, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device). For the purposes of this specification, "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transmit programs for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable media include: an electrical connection having one or more wires (electronic device), a portable computer disk drive (magnetic device), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable and editable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), fiber optic devices, and portable optical disc read-only memory (CDROM). Alternatively, the computer-readable medium may be paper or other suitable media on which the program can be printed, since the program can be obtained electronically by optically scanning the paper or other medium, followed by editing, interpreting, or otherwise processing as necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.

[0159] It should be understood that the various parts of this application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, the N steps or methods can be implemented using software or firmware stored in memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. If implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be implemented using any one or more of the following techniques known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logical functions on data signals, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having suitable combinational logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0160] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the methods in the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, the program includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

[0161] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a processing module, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into a module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. If the integrated module is implemented as a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0162] The storage medium mentioned above can be a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc. Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting this application. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A thermal management system for a vehicle, comprising: A control valve is used to divide the refrigerant into a first refrigerant stream and a second refrigerant stream. The controller is configured to generate a first control signal based on a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the vehicle's power battery, and a second control signal based on a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment. Based on the first refrigerant supply, the controller controls a first branch to adjust its actual evaporation pressure to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first control signal; and based on the second refrigerant supply, the controller controls a second branch to adjust its actual evaporation pressure to the second target evaporation pressure according to the second control signal. The first branch includes a first electronic expansion valve, a battery cooler, and a first electronic pressure regulating valve connected in series; The second branch includes a second electronic expansion valve, a crew compartment evaporator, and a second electronic pressure regulating valve connected in series.

2. The vehicle thermal management system according to claim 1 further includes: A condenser, which is connected to the first branch and the second branch respectively via control valves, is used to deliver the refrigerant, wherein the control valve is a three-way solenoid valve; A gas-liquid separator has its inlet connected to the outlet of the first electronic pressure regulating valve and the outlet of the second electronic pressure regulating valve, respectively. It is used to receive the refrigerant from the first branch and the refrigerant from the second branch, so as to combine the refrigerant from the first branch and the refrigerant from the second branch to obtain the combined refrigerant. After performing gas-liquid separation treatment on the combined refrigerant, the gaseous refrigerant is delivered to the vehicle's compressor.

3. The vehicle thermal management system according to claim 2 further includes: A four-way reversing valve is located between the compressor and the inlet of the passenger compartment evaporator. When the vehicle's thermal management system is in heat pump heating mode, the four-way reversing valve switches the refrigerant flow direction so that the passenger compartment evaporator performs the condensation function.

4. The vehicle thermal management system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the first electronic expansion valve to adjust the actual outlet superheat of the battery cooler to a first target superheat, and to control the second electronic expansion valve to adjust the actual outlet superheat of the passenger compartment evaporator to a second target superheat.

5. A thermal management method for a vehicle, characterized in that, The vehicle thermal management system according to any one of claims 1-4 is adopted, wherein the method includes the following steps: Obtain the actual battery temperature of the vehicle's power battery and the actual ambient temperature of the passenger compartment; Based on the actual battery temperature, a first target evaporation pressure corresponding to the power battery is determined, and based on the actual ambient temperature, a second target evaporation pressure corresponding to the passenger compartment is determined. Based on the first electronic pressure regulating valve of the first branch in the vehicle, the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch in the vehicle is adjusted until the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch in the vehicle reaches the first target evaporation pressure. Based on the second electronic pressure regulating valve of the second branch in the vehicle, the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch in the vehicle is adjusted until the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch in the vehicle reaches the second target evaporation pressure.

6. The vehicle thermal management method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: Obtain the current operating data of the vehicle, and determine the current operating mode of the vehicle based on the current operating data; Based on the current operating mode, the first target evaporation pressure and the second target evaporation pressure are determined.

7. The vehicle thermal management method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Also includes: Based on the current operating mode, calculate the first pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch and the first target evaporation pressure, and adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the first branch to the first target evaporation pressure according to the first pressure deviation; Calculate the second pressure deviation between the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch and the second target evaporation pressure, and adjust the actual evaporation pressure of the second branch to the second target evaporation pressure based on the second pressure deviation.

8. The vehicle thermal management method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: The refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the battery cooler in the vehicle is obtained to determine the first actual superheat of the battery cooler. Calculate the first superheat deviation between the first actual superheat and the first target superheat, and adjust the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the first branch according to the first superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the first branch reaches the first target superheat. The refrigerant temperature at the refrigerant outlet of the evaporator in the passenger compartment of the vehicle is obtained to determine the second actual superheat of the evaporator in the passenger compartment. Calculate the second superheat deviation between the second actual superheat and the second target superheat, and adjust the actual refrigerant flow rate corresponding to the second branch according to the second superheat deviation until the actual superheat of the second branch reaches the second target superheat.

9. A vehicle, characterized in that, include: A memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, the processor executing the program to implement the thermal management method for a vehicle as described in any one of claims 5-8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, The program is executed by the processor to implement the thermal management method for a vehicle as described in any one of claims 5-8.

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