AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

An air conditioning system (1) for stationary air conditioning of a motor vehicle (10) is provided, wherein the air conditioning system (1) comprises a compression refrigeration machine (2) having a refrigerant circuit (3) for conveying a refrigerant. The compression refrigeration machine (2) has a latent heat accumulator (4) for condensing the refrigerant.

Description

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air conditioning system for stationary air conditioning for a motor vehicle, a motor vehicle comprising the air conditioning system, and / or a method for operating the air conditioning system and / or the motor vehicle.

[0002] Electric vehicles, such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), offer the advantage of what's known as auxiliary air conditioning. This auxiliary air conditioning is typically achieved by a conventional compression refrigeration unit. The only significant difference from the air conditioning system of a combustion engine-powered vehicle is that the refrigerant compressor is electrically driven, thus operating completely independently of the combustion engine.

[0003] A major disadvantage of the conventional auxiliary air conditioning system in electrically powered vehicles is the use of a conventional (refrigerant) condenser, which must be cooled by a fan when the vehicle is stationary. The resulting noise is disturbing to vehicle occupants and other people in the immediate vicinity. Furthermore, the fan consumes electrical energy in the order of several hundred watts from the vehicle's electrical system, thus impairing the efficiency of the auxiliary air conditioning system and correspondingly impacting the vehicle's electric range.

[0004] US 2017 / 0211856 A1 describes a condenser bottle configured to receive and contain a fluid used in a refrigeration circuit of an air conditioning system. The condenser bottle comprises an outer wall and an inner wall defining an intermediate space. The inner wall defines an inner space for containing the fluid. The intermediate space includes a static component configured to store and release a specific amount of heat to enable heat exchange between the static component and the fluid contained in the inner space.

[0005] EP 1 722 182 A2 describes a refrigerator and / or freezer with at least one coolant circuit having at least one condenser, as well as a latent heat accumulator with a latent heat storage means, wherein the latent heat accumulator is arranged such that it absorbs heat released by the condenser. The latent heat storage means is designed such that, upon absorbing heat released by the condenser, it undergoes a phase change, which is reversed during the idle time of the coolant circuit by releasing heat to the environment.

[0006] Against the background of this prior art, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a device and / or a method which are each suitable for enriching the prior art.

[0007] The problem is solved by the features of the independent claims. The subordinate claims and the dependent claims each contain optional developments of the disclosure.

[0008] The task is then solved by an air conditioning system for stationary air conditioning of a motor vehicle.

[0009] The air conditioning system comprises a compression refrigeration machine which has a refrigerant circuit for carrying a refrigerant.

[0010] The compression refrigeration machine has a latent heat storage unit for condensing the refrigerant.

[0011] Auxiliary air conditioning can be understood as the air conditioning of a motor vehicle, e.g., the interior of the motor vehicle, when the motor vehicle is stationary. The air conditioning system can thus be operated while the motor vehicle is stationary, e.g., during a break in the journey and / or when a motor vehicle's engine is stationary, and thus air-condition, e.g., cool, the vehicle interior.

[0012] A latent heat storage device, also known as a phase-change material (PCM) storage device, can be understood as a heat storage device that stores a large portion of the heat supplied to it as conversion enthalpy or latent heat, i.e. heat that is absorbed during a phase transition of a material in the latent heat storage device, e.g. from solid to liquid. As a result, the latent heat storage device has a high energy density in the phase transition region, i.e. it can absorb very large amounts of heat in this region, with the conversion of the latent heat occurring in a virtually constant temperature range.

[0013] The air conditioning system described above offers a number of advantages. Among other things, it provides an air conditioning system that can be designed without a fan by using a latent heat accumulator instead of a conventional (refrigerant) condenser, so that during operation of the air conditioning system, ie, during stationary air conditioning, no disturbing background noise is generated by the air conditioning system.

[0014] Furthermore, by eliminating the need for a fan, the air conditioning system is advantageously much more energy-efficient, which can, among other things, have a positive impact on the electric range of the vehicle, provided that it is an electrically powered vehicle.

[0015] Possible further developments of the air conditioning system described above are explained in detail below.

[0016] The compression refrigeration machine and / or the air conditioning system can be designed without a fan (or without a fan).

[0017] The compression refrigeration machine may have an electrically operated refrigerant compressor for compressing the refrigerant.

[0018] The compression refrigeration machine may have a refrigerant evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant (e.g. by means of heat from a vehicle interior of the motor vehicle).

[0019] The compression refrigeration machine may have a condenser (e.g. air-cooled and / or air-coolable).

[0020] The compression refrigeration machine may have a pump (e.g. for circulating the refrigerant).

[0021] The latent heat storage, the refrigerant compressor, the refrigerant evaporator, the condenser and / or the pump can be arranged in the refrigerant circuit and / or be fluidly connected to the refrigerant circuit.

[0022] The above description can be summarized in other words and in a possible more concrete embodiment of the disclosure as described below, whereby the following description is not to be interpreted as limiting the disclosure.

[0023] To eliminate the disadvantages of conventional stationary air conditioning, a latent heat storage unit can be used as a condenser for the compression refrigeration machine. The latent heat storage unit can also be installed in parallel with a conventional condenser, for example. The latent heat storage unit can absorb the condensation heat completely silently when the vehicle is stationary. As soon as a sufficiently high driving speed is reached at a later point in time, the latent heat storage unit can also be cooled by airflow without any significant energy expenditure, thus placing significantly less strain on overall vehicle efficiency than is the case with conventional stationary air conditioning. The stored thermal energy can also be used to heat other fluids, such as lubricants and / or coolants.

[0024] Furthermore, a motor vehicle comprising the air conditioning device described above is provided.

[0025] The motor vehicle may be a passenger car, in particular an automobile, or a commercial vehicle, such as a truck.

[0026] The latent heat storage device can be arranged within the motor vehicle in such a way that the latent heat storage device can be cooled by airflow (and / or can be flowed around by airflow) while the motor vehicle is in motion. In other words, the latent heat storage device can be arranged in an airflow path (while the motor vehicle is in motion). This allows the latent heat storage device to be advantageously cooled with minimal technical effort, e.g., without additional components, thus reducing the impact on the overall vehicle efficiency of the motor vehicle.

[0027] The refrigerant evaporator can be arranged within the motor vehicle in such a way that the refrigerant evaporator can absorb heat from the vehicle interior and / or can be surrounded by air from the vehicle interior. In other words, the refrigerant evaporator can be arranged in an air path for air from the vehicle interior.

[0028] The motor vehicle can comprise at least one fluid line, in and / or on which the latent heat accumulator can be arranged for heating a fluid (which, for example, is routed in the at least one fluid line) and / or for transferring heat from the compression refrigeration machine to the at least one fluid line. This allows the latent heat accumulator to advantageously perform a dual function and serve as a heat exchanger. The heat absorbed from the compression refrigeration machine or the refrigerant circuit can be reused and thus not lost unused.

[0029] The at least one fluid line may comprise a line of a coolant circuit and / or a lubricant line.

[0030] The motor vehicle may be an electrically powered motor vehicle, e.g., a battery-electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or a fuel cell vehicle.

[0031] What has been described above with reference to the air conditioning system also applies analogously to the motor vehicle and vice versa.

[0032] Furthermore, a method for operating the above-described air conditioning device and / or the above-described motor vehicle is provided, wherein the motor vehicle (when carrying out the method) is at a standstill (and / or a drive engine of the motor vehicle is at a standstill).

[0033] The method comprises circulating the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit to absorb heat from a vehicle interior of the motor vehicle and / or to release heat to the vehicle interior. The circulating refrigerant is condensed by the latent heat storage device or is condensable by the latent heat storage device.

[0034] What has been described above with reference to the air conditioning system and the motor vehicle also applies analogously to the process and vice versa.

[0035] Below is an optional embodiment with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 described. Fig. 1 shows schematically an air conditioning device according to the disclosure for stationary air conditioning for a motor vehicle, and Fig. Figure 2 shows a schematic view of the motor vehicle with the air conditioning system.

[0036] The Fig. 1, the air conditioning device 1, which is shown only schematically and is designed for stationary air conditioning of a motor vehicle 10, comprises a compression refrigeration machine 2.

[0037] The compression refrigeration machine 2 has a refrigerant circuit 3 for conducting (or circulating) a refrigerant and a latent heat storage unit 4 for condensing the refrigerant. The refrigerant circuit 3 is filled or can be filled with the refrigerant.

[0038] In the embodiment shown, the compression refrigeration machine 2 has an electrically operated refrigerant compressor 5 for compressing the refrigerant and a refrigerant evaporator 6 for evaporating the refrigerant. The refrigerant evaporator 6 can be configured to absorb heat from a vehicle interior 11 of the motor vehicle 10 to evaporate the refrigerant.

[0039] Furthermore, it is conceivable that the compression refrigeration machine 2 may have, in addition to the latent heat storage 4, a (conventional), e.g. air-cooled or air-coolable, condenser.

[0040] Fig. 2 shows the motor vehicle 10, which comprises the air conditioning device 1, wherein the motor vehicle 10 can be an electrically driven motor vehicle (or an electric vehicle).

[0041] Within this motor vehicle 10, the latent heat storage device 4 can be arranged in such a way that the latent heat storage device 4 can be cooled by a wind during driving of the motor vehicle 10.

[0042] The motor vehicle 10 can further comprise at least one fluid line (not shown), wherein the latent heat accumulator 4 can be arranged in and / or on the at least one fluid line for heating a fluid (which is guided through at least one fluid line) and / or for transferring heat from the compression refrigeration machine 2 into the at least one fluid line. The at least one line can be, for example, a line or a section of a coolant circuit and / or a lubricant line.

[0043] When the motor vehicle 10 or a drive engine of the motor vehicle 10 is stationary, the air conditioning system 1 can be operated for stationary air conditioning, e.g., of the vehicle interior 11. For this purpose, the refrigerant is circulated in the refrigerant circuit 3, e.g., by means of the refrigerant compressor 5 and / or a pump of the compression refrigeration machine 2 arranged in the refrigerant circuit 3, to absorb heat from the vehicle interior 11 of the motor vehicle 10 and / or to release heat to the vehicle interior 11. The circulating refrigerant is condensed by the latent heat accumulator 4 or is condensable by the latent heat accumulator 4. List of reference symbols 1 air conditioning unit 2 compression refrigeration machines 3 Refrigerant circuit 4 latent heat storage 5 refrigerant compressors 6 refrigerant evaporators 10 motor vehicle 11 Interior of the motor vehicle QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] US 2017 / 0211856 A1

[0004] EP 1 722 182 A2

[0005]

Claims

[1] Air conditioning device (1) for stationary air conditioning of a motor vehicle (10), the air conditioning device (1) comprising: - a compression refrigeration machine (2) having a refrigerant circuit (3) for carrying a refrigerant, characterized by that the compression refrigeration machine (2) has: - a latent heat accumulator (4) for condensing the refrigerant. [2] Air conditioning device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the compression refrigeration machine (2) has: - an electrically operated refrigerant compressor (5) for compressing the refrigerant. [3] Air conditioning device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the compression refrigeration machine (2) has: - a refrigerant evaporator (6) for evaporating the refrigerant by means of heat from a vehicle interior (11) of the motor vehicle (10). [4] Air conditioning device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized bythat the compression refrigeration machine (2) has a condenser. [5] Motor vehicle (10), characterized by that the motor vehicle (10) comprises the air conditioning device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4. [6] Motor vehicle (10) according to claim 5, characterized by that the latent heat accumulator (4) is arranged within the motor vehicle (10) in such a way that the latent heat accumulator (4) can be cooled by a wind during driving of the motor vehicle (10). [7] Motor vehicle (10) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized by that the motor vehicle (10) comprises at least one fluid line in and / or on which the latent heat accumulator (4) is arranged for heating a fluid and / or for transferring heat from the compression refrigeration machine (2) into the at least one fluid line. [8] Motor vehicle (10) according to claim 7, characterized bythat the at least one fluid line comprises a line of a coolant circuit and / or a lubricant line. [9] Motor vehicle (10) according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized by that the motor vehicle (10) is an electrically driven motor vehicle (10). [10] Method for operating the air conditioning device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4 and / or the motor vehicle (10) according to one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the motor vehicle (10) is at a standstill, characterized by that the procedure includes: - Circulating the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit (3) to absorb heat from a vehicle interior (11) of the motor vehicle (10) and / or to release heat to the vehicle interior (11), wherein the circulating refrigerant is condensed by the latent heat accumulator (4).

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