Electric heating system

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric heating system 2 comprising a first electric heating device 4 and a second electric heating device 6, which are spatially separated from one another. The first electric heating device 4 has at least one first electric heating element 8, for example a PTC element, and the second electric heating device 6 has at least one second electric heating element 9, for example a PTC element. Only the first electric heating device 4 has a control unit 12, which controls and supplies power to both the at least one first heating element 8 and the at least one second heating element 9 of the second electric heating device 6. The second electric heating device 6 is therefore designed without its own control unit. Thus, the effort required to construct an electric heating system 2 with multiple electric heating devices 4, 6 is reduced compared to the prior art.

Description

The present invention relates to an electric heating system, in particular for a vehicle, and to a corresponding vehicle. Electric heating devices, particularly for heating motor vehicles, are known. EP 2 884 197 A1 discloses an electric heating device that uses at least one PTC heating element made of a material with a positive temperature coefficient to generate heat. These heating elements are controlled by a control unit with several printed circuit boards. As EP 2 884 197 A1 shows, such control units are complex and require a relatively large amount of installation space. Therefore, when a heating system with several electric heating devices is used in a vehicle, multiple control units are required, resulting in a complex heating system design with a large number of printed circuit boards in the control units. The present invention addresses the problem of providing an electric heating system that is less complex in design. To solve this problem, an electric heating system is proposed, comprising a first electric heating device and a second electric heating device, wherein the first electric heating device has at least one first electrically operable heating element and the second electric heating device has at least one second electrically operable heating element, and the first and second electric heating devices each comprise a heating chamber thermally connected to the heating element and through which a fluid to be heated can flow, wherein the first electric heating device comprises a control device by which both the first heating element of the first electric heating device and the second heating element of the second electric heating device can be controlled. An electrically operated heating element (also called an electric heating element) is a heating element that can convert electrical current into heat. A preferred example of an electric heating element is a so-called PTC heating element made of a material with a positive temperature coefficient (PTC). Alternatively or additionally, resistance heating elements and / or heating elements using thick-film technology can also be used. Each of the first and second electric heating devices has its own housing. Each of these housings has at least one heating element and its own heating chamber. The first and second electric heating devices are therefore spatially separated from each other. A flow connection between the first and second electric heating devices is not necessary. Preferably, the first and second electric heating devices are fluidically separated from each other. In particular, each heating chamber of each of the first and second electric heating devices has an inlet for the medium to be heated, for example, a connection port, and an outlet for the heated medium, for example, in the form of a connection port. Pipes or hoses for conveying the fluid to be heated can be connected to the respective heating chamber via connection ports. The fluid preferably comprises water.The second electric heating device does not have its own control unit that can control the second heating element. The second heating element can only be controlled by the control unit that is integrated into the first electric heating device. The electric heating system according to the present invention is preferably installed in a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle. The motor vehicle is preferably at least partially electrically powered, for example by a fully electric drive or a hybrid drive with an internal combustion engine and an electric drive. The motor vehicle is particularly preferably an automobile. The electric heating system is characterized by the fact that only the first electric heating element includes a control unit, which controls not only the first electric heating element but also the second electric heating element and, if applicable, further electric heating elements. The second electric heating element, therefore, does not have its own control unit integrated into its housing. Depending on the application, it may be necessary or preferable to use several electric heating elements in a vehicle that can be operated independently but are controlled by a common control unit within the electric heating system.This allows for a more compact design of at least the second electric heating element compared to conventional systems where each electric heating element has its own control unit. The costs of setting up the electric heating system are also reduced, as only one control unit is required. As a result, the electric heating system is less complex than heating systems using conventional electric heating elements. The control device preferably comprises at least one printed circuit board, in particular at least one printed circuit board populated with at least one semiconductor device. The control device preferably includes power switches. The semiconductor device is preferably a power switch. Preferably, an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a field-effect transistor (FET), or a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is used as the semiconductor device or power switch. The power switch switches the electrical power to operate a heating element of an electric heating device. Preferably, first circuit breakers are configured for switching the electrical power to operate the at least one first heating element of the first heating device, and second circuit breakers are configured for switching the electrical power to operate the at least second heating element of the second heating device. By designing first circuit breakers that are exclusively suitable and intended for switching the electrical power to operate the at least one first heating element of the first heating device, and second circuit breakers that are exclusively suitable and intended for switching the electrical power to operate the at least one second heating element of the second heating device, the circuit breakers can be adapted to the loads to be switched in the first heating element and the second heating element, respectively, particularly with regard to the let-through current limits. Preferably, the first electric heating device has a first voltage input and a voltage output, wherein the voltage output is electrically connected to a second voltage input of the second electric heating device. Both the first and second electric heating devices are also connected to electrical ground. Connecting the first voltage output to the first voltage input eliminates the need for a separate power supply for the second electric heating device. Preferably, the connection between the first voltage output and the second voltage input is switchable, in particular by at least one power switch. Furthermore, a vehicle is proposed which includes an electric heating system according to the present invention. Preferably, the vehicle is understood to be a motor vehicle that can be driven by at least one electric motor or a motor vehicle that can be driven by a hybrid drive consisting of an internal combustion engine and at least one electric motor. A vehicle or motor vehicle is understood to be a vehicle that can move on water, on land, and / or in the air. In particular, a vehicle is understood to be an automobile. Further details and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the drawing. In this drawing: Fig. 1: schematically an exemplary embodiment of an electric heating system; Fig. 2: schematically a section of an example of a printed circuit board of a control unit of an electric heating system; Fig. 3: schematically another view of a part of the exemplary embodiment of the electric heating system; and Fig. 4: schematically a vehicle with an exemplary embodiment of an electric heating system. Fig. 1 shows an electric heating system 2 comprising a first electric heating device 4 and a second electric heating device 6. The first electric heating device 4 has a first housing 5. The first electric heating device 4 comprises at least one first electrically operable heating element 8, in particular a PTC element, and at least one first heating chamber 10. The first heating chamber 10 is designed to allow flow of a fluid to be heated, preferably water. For this purpose, the first heating chamber 10 has a first inlet 30 and a first outlet 32. The first inlet 30 and first outlet 32 ​​can, for example, be designed as connection ports for hoses, pipes, or similar components. The flow direction through the first heating chamber 10 is indicated in Fig. 1 by corresponding arrows in the first inlet 30 and the first outlet 32. The second electric heating device 6 has a second housing 7. The second electric heating device 6 comprises at least one second electrically operated heating element 9, in particular a PTC element, and at least one second heating chamber 11. The second heating chamber 11 is designed to allow flow of a fluid to be heated, preferably water. For this purpose, the second heating chamber 11 has a second inlet 34 and a second outlet 36. The second inlet 34 and second outlet 36 can, for example, be designed as connection ports for hoses, pipes, or similar components. The flow direction through the second heating chamber 11 is indicated in Fig. 1 by corresponding arrows in the second inlet 34 and the first outlet 36. The housings 5, 7 of the heating devices 4, 6 are designed separately from each other. Thus, the first and second electric heating devices 4, 6 are spatially separated. The first heating chamber 10 and the second heating chamber 11 are spatially separated from each other, each with its own inlets 30, 34 and outlets 32, 36. The first housing 5 and the second housing 7 are separate from each other. The first electric heating device 4 further comprises a control unit 12 by which the at least one first heating element 8 of the first electric heating device 4 and also the at least one second heating element 9 of the spatially separate second electric heating device 6 can be controlled. The second electric heating device 6 therefore does not include its own control unit. The control unit 12 is thus connected, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, to both the at least one first heating element 8 and the at least one second heating element 9 by control lines 38. The control unit 12 is preferably formed in a connection chamber 40 of the first housing 5, shown here only schematically, into which the electrical contacts of the at least first electric heating element 8 (not shown here) preferably project for supplying it with power current. By using a single control unit 12 that can control both the first heating elements 8 of the first electric heating device 4 and the second heating elements 9 of the second electric heating device 6, as well as, if applicable, the heating elements of other electric heating devices not shown, it is unnecessary to have a separate control unit in the second electric heating device 6 and possibly in other electric heating devices. This simplifies the design of the electric heating system 2, making it simpler and more cost-effective. Furthermore, it may be possible to reduce the installation space required for the second electric heating device 6. Fig. 2 shows a detail of an example of a control device 12. This device comprises at least one printed circuit board 14 (PCB) equipped with semiconductor components, in particular power switches 16, for example, first power switches 18 and second power switches 20. Preferably, the printed circuit board 14 has several first power switches 18 and several second power switches 20, via which the electrical power of the electrical heating elements 8, 9 can be switched, as well as optionally further semiconductor components. In particular, the electrical power of the at least one first electrical heating element 8 can be switched by the at least one first power switch 18, and the electrical power of the at least one second electrical heating element 9 can be switched by the at least one second power switch 20. IGBTs are particularly preferably used as the power switches 16, 18, 20. Fig. 3 shows a very schematic diagram of the circuit in the exemplary embodiment of the electric heating system 2. The control unit 12 in the first electric heating device 4 comprises circuit breakers 16 and, in particular, also second circuit breakers 20, which electrically connect a first voltage input 22, which is at an input voltage UIN, to a voltage output 24, which in turn is connected to a second voltage input 26 of the second electric heating device 6. Thus, the at least one second circuit breaker 20 in the control unit 12 in the first electric heating device 4 can supply the at least one second electrically heated heating element 9 of the second electric heating device 6 with electrical power. To generate heat, the at least one first heating element 8 of the first electrical heating device 4 can be connected to the first voltage input 22 via circuit breakers 16 and, in particular, the first circuit breakers 18 shown in Fig. 2. The at least one first electrical heating element 8 is also electrically connected to ground 28. To generate heat, the at least one second heating element 9 of the second electrical heating device 6 can be connected to the second voltage input 26 via circuit breakers 16 and, in particular, the second circuit breakers 20. The at least one second electrical heating element 9 is also electrically connected to ground 28. Fig. 4 shows a very schematic representation of a vehicle 100 with an electric heating system 2. The electric heating system 2 allows the vehicle 100 to be heated electrically. The present invention relates to an electric heating system 2 comprising a first electric heating device 4 and a second electric heating device 6, which are spatially separated from one another. The first electric heating device 4 has at least one first electric heating element 8, for example a PTC element, and the second electric heating device 6 has at least one second electric heating element 9, for example a PTC element. Only the first electric heating device 4 has a control unit 12, which controls and supplies power to both the at least one first heating element 8 and the at least one second heating element 9 of the second electric heating device 6. The second electric heating device 6 is therefore designed without its own control unit. Thus, the effort required to construct an electric heating system 2 with multiple electric heating devices 4, 6 is reduced compared to the prior art. Reference symbol list 2 electric heating system 4 first electric heating device 5 first housing 6 second electric heating device 7 second housing 8 first electrically operated heating element 9 second electrically operated heating element 10 first heating chamber 11 second heating chamber 12 control unit 14 circuit board 16 circuit breaker 18 first circuit breaker 20 second circuit breaker 22 first voltage input 24 voltage output 26 second voltage input 28 ground 30 first inlet 32 ​​first outlet 34 second inlet 36 second outlet 38 control line 40 connection chamber 100 vehicle U1 input voltage of the heating device U2 output voltage of the first heating device QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature EP 2 884 197 A1

[0002]

Claims

Electric heating system (2), comprising a first electric heating device (4) and a second electric heating device (6), wherein the first electric heating device (4) comprises a first electrically operable heating element (8) and the second electric heating device (6) comprises a second electrically operable heating element (9) and the first and second electric heating devices (4, 6) each comprise a heating chamber (10, 11) thermally connected to the respective heating element (8, 9) and through which a fluid to be heated can flow, characterized in that the first electric heating device (4) comprises a control device (12) by which both the first heating element (8) of the first electric heating device (4) and the second heating element (9) of the second electric heating device (6) can be controlled. Electric heating system (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control device (12) comprises at least one circuit board (14). Electric heating system (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (12) comprises circuit breakers (16, 18, 20). Electric heating system (2) according to claim 3, characterized in that first power switches (18) are designed for switching the electrical power to operate the first heating element (8) of the first heating device (4) and second power switches (20) are designed for switching the electrical power to operate the second heating element (8) of the second heating device (6). Electric heating system (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first electric heating device (4) has a first voltage input (22) and a voltage output (24), wherein the voltage output (24) is electrically connected to a second voltage input (26) of the second electric heating device (6). Vehicle (100) comprising an electric heating system (2) according to one of the preceding claims.

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