Vehicle cooling system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle cooling system which enables improvement of cooling performance.SOLUTION: A vehicle cooling system A includes: a refrigerant module B having a refrigerant passage B1 for circulating a refrigerant in an area ranging from a condenser 12 to an evaporator 14; a coolant module C having a coolant passage C1 for circulating a coolant which exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the condenser 12 and the evaporator 14; and an air conditioning module D having a cooling heat exchanger 52 which conducts heat exchange between outdoor air and a cooling fluid. The cooling heat exchanger 52 is configured to be cooled with the refrigerant or the coolant circulating in the evaporator 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle cooling system. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vehicle cooling systems for cooling the interior of a vehicle have been used. As a technology related to such a vehicle cooling system for cooling the interior of a vehicle, there is one described in Patent Document 1, the source of which is shown below.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a refrigeration cycle device. This refrigeration cycle device is applied to a vehicle air conditioner. The vehicle air conditioner is configured to be switchable between a cooling mode and a heating mode. In the cooling mode, heat absorbed by an interior evaporator and an exterior evaporator is dissipated to the outside air by an exterior heat exchanger to cool the vehicle interior. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-60580 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the refrigeration cycle device described in Patent Document 1, in the cooling mode, the indoor evaporator exchanges heat between the low-pressure refrigerant decompressed by the cooling expansion valve and the blown air to evaporate the low-pressure refrigerant and cool the blown air. However, when the ambient temperature of the indoor evaporator is high, the temperature of the blown air introduced into the indoor evaporator increases, and the cooling performance of the indoor evaporator deteriorates. For this reason, in order to improve the cooling performance, it is possible to provide the indoor evaporator with a heat dissipation fin to improve the heat dissipation, to increase the heat exchange amount by making the indoor evaporator larger, or to increase the output of the compressor to reduce the temperature of the refrigerant. However, when providing the heat dissipation fin, since the heat dissipation fin has a complex shape, the mold for manufacturing the heat dissipation fin becomes complex, and the production cost increases. In addition, when the indoor evaporator or the compressor is made larger, the cost increases and the power consumption increases, leading to a deterioration in the power consumption.

[0006] Therefore, there is a demand for a vehicle cooling system that can improve cooling performance while suppressing increases in costs and power consumption. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The characteristic configuration of the vehicle air conditioning system of the present invention is that it comprises a refrigerant module having a refrigerant path for circulating refrigerant between a condenser and an evaporator, a coolant module having a coolant flow path for circulating coolant that exchanges heat with the refrigerant at the condenser and the evaporator, and an air conditioning module having a cooling heat exchanger that exchanges heat between outside air and the cooling fluid, and the cooling heat exchanger is configured to be cooled by the refrigerant or the coolant flowing through the evaporator.

[0008] With this characteristic configuration, the cooling heat exchanger that performs cooling by exchanging heat between the outside air and the cooling fluid can be cooled by the refrigerant or coolant. Therefore, the cooling heat exchanger can be cooled without providing a heat dissipation mechanism such as a heat dissipation fin, so the cooling performance can be improved without increasing costs. In addition, there is no need to enlarge the evaporator or compressor to improve the cooling performance, so there is no increase in power consumption. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a circuit configuration diagram of a vehicle cooling system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing the layout of a vehicle cooling system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of a refrigerant in a first state. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of a refrigerant in a second state. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of the coolant in a third state. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of coolant in a fourth state. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a circuit configuration diagram of a vehicle cooling system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of refrigerant in a fifth state. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of refrigerant in a sixth state. [Figure 10] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the layout of a vehicle cooling system according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The vehicle cooling system according to the present invention is configured to cool the interior of a vehicle. Hereinafter, a vehicle cooling system A according to the present embodiment will be described. However, the vehicle cooling system A is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0011] 1. First embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a vehicle cooling system A according to a first embodiment. The vehicle cooling system A is mounted on a vehicle, and includes a refrigerant module B, a coolant module C, and an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) unit D (an example of an "air conditioning module") as shown in FIG. 1. The refrigerant module B is provided with a refrigerant passage B1 and configured as a refrigerant manifold. The coolant module C is provided with a coolant passage C1 and configured as a coolant manifold. Here, the manifold is a passage housing in which a plate member is laminated and sealed on a housing main body in which the coolant passage C1 and the coolant passage B1 are cut or cast. The passage housing is formed of a metal material having high thermal conductivity, including aluminum.

[0012] A refrigerant such as hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) or hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) flows through the refrigerant passage B1, and a coolant such as antifreeze or long-life coolant mainly composed of ethylene glycol or the like, or a coolant composed of insulating oil such as paraffin flows through the coolant passage C1. FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of the refrigerant module B, the coolant module C, and the HVAC unit D in the vehicle cooling system A. FIG. 2(A) is a plan view, and FIG. 2(B) is a side view. In FIG. 2, the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle when the vehicle cooling system A is mounted on the vehicle is indicated as F, and the rear side in the traveling direction is indicated as R. The coolant module C is provided with ports PO1 and PO2 through which the coolant is introduced and discharged.

[0013] 1 and 2, a refrigerant path B1 circulates (circulates) a refrigerant between a water-cooled condenser (an example of a "condenser") 12 and a chiller (an example of an "evaporator") 14. The refrigerant module B is configured to allow a refrigerant to circulate between an accumulator 10, a compressor 11, the water-cooled condenser 12, an expansion valve 13, and the chiller 14 via the refrigerant path B1.

[0014] The accumulator 10 stores a liquid refrigerant and separates the stored refrigerant into gas and liquid. The gas refrigerant separated by the accumulator 10 flows through a first refrigerant passage 21 and is sent to the compressor 11.

[0015] The compressor 11 compresses the refrigerant from the accumulator 10. This causes the refrigerant to become a high-temperature compressed gas. The compressor 11 sends the refrigerant that has become a high-temperature compressed gas to the water-cooled condenser 12 via the second refrigerant passage 22. Thus, the compressor 11 pressure-feeds the refrigerant from the accumulator 10 to the water-cooled condenser 12.

[0016] The refrigerant that has passed through the compressor 11 flows through the water-cooled condenser 12. The water-cooled condenser 12 is configured such that the cooling liquid flows in through a first cooling liquid flow path 31 and flows out through a second cooling liquid flow path 32. The first cooling liquid flow path 31 and the second cooling liquid flow path 32 are configured separately from the second cooling liquid path 22. The cooling liquid from the second cooling liquid path 22 is condensed and liquefied as heat is absorbed by the cooling liquid. The liquefied cooling liquid is sent to the third cooling liquid path 23. Like the second cooling liquid path 22, the third cooling liquid path 23 is also configured separately from the first cooling liquid flow path 31 and the second cooling liquid flow path 32.

[0017] In the expansion valve 13, the refrigerant (liquefied refrigerant) flowing through the third refrigerant passage is expanded and turned into a low-temperature, low-pressure mist. The mist-like refrigerant is sent to the fourth refrigerant passage .

[0018] In the chiller 14, the refrigerant flows through the fourth refrigerant passage 24. As described above, the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 13 and turned into a low-temperature, low-pressure mist flows through the fourth refrigerant passage 24, and this mist is sent to the chiller 14. The chiller 14 is configured such that the coolant that has undergone heat exchange in the evaporator (one example of a "cooling heat exchanger") 52 flows in from the third coolant passage 33, and the coolant flows out from the fourth coolant passage 34 via the switching valve 41. The third coolant passage 33 and the fourth coolant passage 34 are configured separately from the fourth coolant passage 24. In the chiller 14, the mist refrigerant absorbs heat from the coolant and evaporates. The evaporated and vaporized refrigerant flows through the fifth refrigerant passage 25 to the accumulator 10.

[0019] The switching valve 41 is disposed in the fourth refrigerant passage 24 of the refrigerant passage B1, and is configured so that the refrigerant flows through it from the expansion valve 13. The refrigerant is delivered to the switching valve 41 from the expansion valve 13 via the fourth refrigerant passage 24.

[0020] The switching valve 41 is configured to be able to send the refrigerant to the fourth refrigerant path 24 or the sixth refrigerant path 26. The refrigerant sent from the switching valve 41 to the fourth refrigerant path 24 flows through the chiller 14. In this case, the refrigerant from the expansion valve 13 is configured not to be sent directly to the sixth refrigerant path 26.

[0021] On the other hand, the refrigerant sent from the switching valve 41 to the sixth refrigerant passage 26 flows to the evaporator 52. The refrigerant sent to the sixth refrigerant passage 26 is at a very low temperature, and the temperature around the evaporator 52 drops. The refrigerant that has flowed through the evaporator 52 flows through the seventh refrigerant passage 27 and the switching valve 41 to the chiller 14. In this case, the refrigerant from the expansion valve 13 is configured not to be sent directly to the chiller 14.

[0022] The switching valve 41 is configured to be able to switch the flow state of the refrigerant in the refrigerant path B1 between a first state and a second state. The first state is a state in which the refrigerant from the expansion valve 13 is sent to the chiller 14 without flowing to the evaporator 52. The flow state of the refrigerant in such a first state is shown in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, in the first state, the refrigerant is circulated through the accumulator 10, the compressor 11, the water-cooled condenser 12, the expansion valve 13, the switching valve 41, and the chiller 14.

[0023] The second state is a state in which the refrigerant from the expansion valve 13 is sent to the evaporator 52. The flow state of the refrigerant in such a second state is shown in Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 4, in the second state, the refrigerant is circulated through the accumulator 10, the compressor 11, the water-cooled condenser 12, the expansion valve 13, the switching valve 41, the evaporator 52, the switching valve 41, and the chiller 14.

[0024] The switching valve 41 is switched between a first state and a second state by a control unit (not shown) of the vehicle cooling system A or a higher-level system of the vehicle cooling system A.

[0025] 1, the coolant flows through the coolant flow path C1 to exchange heat with the refrigerant in the water-cooled condenser 12 and the chiller 14. The coolant module C is configured to allow the coolant to flow through the coolant flow path C1 among the water-cooled condenser 12, the chiller 14, the switching valve 42, the radiator 43, and the evaporator 52 by a first pump P1 and a second pump P2.

[0026] As described above, the water-cooled condenser 12 is configured so that the coolant flows in through the first coolant flow path 31 and flows out through the second coolant flow path 32. The first coolant flow path 31 is provided with a first pump P1, and the coolant is pumped out by this first pump P1.

[0027] The switching valve 42 is disposed in the coolant flow path C1, and is configured to allow the coolant to flow from the water-cooled condenser 12 and the chiller 14. The coolant is sent from the water-cooled condenser 12 to the switching valve 42 via the second coolant flow path 32, and the coolant is sent from the chiller 14 via the fourth coolant flow path 34. A second pump P2 is provided in the fourth coolant flow path 34, and the coolant is sent from the chiller 14 to the switching valve 42 by this second pump P2.

[0028] The switching valve 42 is configured to be able to send the cooling liquid to the fifth cooling liquid flow path 35 and the sixth cooling liquid flow path 36. The cooling liquid sent from the switching valve 42 to the fifth cooling liquid flow path 35 flows to the evaporator 52. The cooling liquid sent to the evaporator 52 is configured to be able to be sent to the water-cooled condenser 12 via the first cooling liquid flow path 31, and is also configured to be able to be sent to the chiller 14 via the third cooling liquid flow path 33.

[0029] The coolant sent from the switching valve 42 to the sixth coolant flow path 36 flows through the radiator 43. In the radiator 43, heat exchange with outside air occurs, and the coolant is cooled. After the heat exchange, the coolant is sent to the first coolant flow path 31 via the seventh coolant flow path 37.

[0030] The switching valve 42 is configured to be able to switch the flow state of the coolant in the coolant flow passage C1 between a third state and a fourth state. The third state is a state in which the coolant is circulated through the water-cooled condenser 12. The flow state of the coolant in such a third state is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, in the third state, the coolant is circulated through the water-cooled condenser 12, the second coolant flow passage 32, the switching valve 42, the fifth coolant flow passage 35, the evaporator 52, and the first coolant flow passage 31 by the first pump P1.

[0031] At this time, the coolant may be sent from the switching valve 42 to the sixth coolant flow passage 36 , and then circulated so as to return to the first coolant flow passage 31 via the radiator 43 and the seventh coolant flow passage 37 .

[0032] The fourth state is a state in which the coolant is circulated through the chiller 14. The flow state of the coolant in such a fourth state is shown in Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 6, in the fourth state, the coolant is circulated through the chiller 14, the fourth coolant flow path 34, the switching valve 42, the fifth coolant flow path 35, the evaporator 52, and the third coolant flow path 33 by the second pump P2.

[0033] The switching valve 42 is switched between the third state and the fourth state by a control unit (not shown) of the vehicle cooling system A or a higher-level system of the vehicle cooling system A.

[0034] 1, the HVAC unit D includes a blower 51 and an evaporator 52. The blower 51 draws in outside air and sends the drawn outside air to the evaporator 52.

[0035] The evaporator 52 exchanges heat between the outside air and the cooling fluid to cool the vehicle interior. The outside air is sucked in by the blower 51. As described above, the cooling fluid is introduced into the evaporator 52 through the fifth cooling fluid passage 35, and the cooling fluid is sent to one or both of the first cooling fluid passage 31 and the third cooling fluid passage 33 depending on the state of the switching valve 42. Therefore, in this embodiment, the cooling fluid corresponds to the cooling fluid. As a result, in the evaporator 52, heat exchange is performed between the outside air sent from the blower 51 and the cooling fluid supplied through the fifth cooling fluid passage 35, and the air after the heat exchange is introduced into the vehicle interior. Specifically, the outside air is cooled in the evaporator 52, and cold air is introduced into the vehicle interior. This makes it possible to cool the vehicle interior.

[0036] The evaporator 52 is configured to be cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the chiller 14. The refrigerant flowing through the chiller 14 is the refrigerant discharged from the expansion valve 13 and before heat exchange in the chiller 14. This refrigerant is the refrigerant in the lowest temperature state among the refrigerants flowing through the refrigerant path B1. Therefore, by flowing the refrigerant in such a state through the evaporator 52, the evaporator 52 and its surroundings can be cooled, thereby improving the cooling effect. In addition, the refrigerant after flowing through the evaporator 52 is warmed by the evaporator 52 and becomes more likely to evaporate in the chiller 14.

[0037] The switching valve 42 is configured to allow the coolant from the water-cooled condenser 12 and the coolant from the chiller 14 to flow. When the coolant from the water-cooled condenser 12 and the coolant from the chiller 14 are compared, the temperature of the coolant from the water-cooled condenser 12 is relatively higher than the temperature of the coolant from the chiller 14. Therefore, when the vehicle interior is heated, the switching valve 42 is set to a third state in which the coolant is circulated to the water-cooled condenser 12, and when the vehicle interior is cooled, the switching valve 42 is set to a fourth state in which the coolant is circulated to the chiller 14. In the third state, a heater core (not shown, a heating heat exchanger) through which the coolant from the water-cooled condenser 12 circulates may be provided, but in FIG. 1, the evaporator 52 is illustrated as a heat exchanger for both heating and cooling. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, a dehumidification rotor is provided upstream of the evaporator 52 in the air blowing direction, but is not illustrated.

[0038] The switching valve 42 is configured to change the opening degree so as to simultaneously realize the third state and the fourth state. Therefore, the switching valve 42 can mix the relatively high-temperature coolant from the water-cooled condenser 12 and the relatively low-temperature coolant from the chiller 14 and send them to the fifth coolant flow path 35. For example, when the set temperature of the air conditioning in the vehicle cabin is high, the ratio of the coolant from the chiller 14 to the coolant from the water-cooled condenser 12 may be reduced, and when the set temperature of the air conditioning in the vehicle cabin is low, the ratio of the coolant from the chiller 14 to the coolant from the water-cooled condenser 12 may be increased. In this way, by changing the opening degree of the switching valve 42 according to the set temperature of the air conditioning in the vehicle cabin and controlling the flow rate of the coolant from the second coolant flow path 32 and the flow rate of the coolant from the fourth coolant flow path 34, the temperature of the coolant sent to the fifth coolant flow path 35 is adjusted, and the temperature in the vehicle cabin can be adjusted to the set temperature of the air conditioning.

[0039] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerant module B, the coolant module C, and the HVAC unit D are integrated. Here, "integration" means a state in which the refrigerant module B and the coolant module C are fixed to the HVAC unit D with bolts or the like. This "integration" also includes forming the same case by combining the materials of the HVAC unit D, the refrigerant module B, and the coolant module C. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the HVAC unit D is mounted on the vehicle, the refrigerant module B is provided on the front side of the HVAC unit D in the traveling direction of the vehicle. In this way, by integrating the refrigerant module B and the coolant module C with the HVAC unit D, the routing of the flow path through which the coolant flows between each of the refrigerant module B and the HVAC unit D and the coolant module C can be made easier and shorter than when the refrigerant module B and the coolant module C are not integrated with the HVAC unit D. Therefore, the vehicle cooling system A can be made smaller, and the power consumption can be improved. 2A and 2B, the water-cooled condenser 12, the expansion valve 13, and the chiller 14 can be disposed in the front of the vehicle, so that as the vehicle travels, wind from the vehicle travels can be blown onto the water-cooled condenser 12, the expansion valve 13, and the chiller 14. This makes it possible to prevent condensation on the water-cooled condenser 12, the expansion valve 13, and the chiller 14.

[0040] 2B, when the HVAC unit D is mounted on the vehicle, the coolant module C is provided on the left side of the vehicle in the HVAC unit D. This makes it possible to easily ensure the introduction and discharge routes of the coolant in the coolant module C by providing ports PO1 and PO2 as shown in FIG. 2B. Also, by arranging the first pump P1, the second pump P2, and the switching valve 42 on the side of the HVAC unit D, it becomes possible to improve maintainability.

[0041] Furthermore, the evaporator 52 is accommodated in the HVAC unit D, and the sixth refrigerant passage 26 from the switching valve 41 to the evaporator 52 and the seventh refrigerant passage 27 from the evaporator 52 to the switching valve 41 are provided in the HVAC unit D. This makes it possible to cool the periphery of the evaporator 52 by the cooling liquid flowing through the sixth refrigerant passage 26 and the seventh refrigerant passage 27. As a result, the evaporator 52 is cooled without providing a heat dissipation mechanism such as a heat dissipation fin, so that the cooling performance can be improved without increasing costs. Note that the sixth refrigerant passage 26 and the seventh refrigerant passage 27 are provided around the evaporator 52, but they may be arranged along the surface of the evaporator 52 or may be piped closer to the evaporator 52 than the dehumidification rotor (not shown).

[0042] 2. Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the evaporator 52 performs cooling by exchanging heat between the outside air and the cooling liquid, but in the second embodiment, the evaporator 52 is configured to perform cooling by exchanging heat between the outside air and the refrigerant, which is different from the first embodiment. The second embodiment will be described below.

[0043] 7 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a vehicle cooling system A according to a second embodiment. In this embodiment, the vehicle cooling system A also includes a refrigerant module B, a coolant module C, and an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) unit D (an example of an "air conditioning module").

[0044] The refrigerant module B is configured to allow refrigerant to flow between the accumulator 10, the compressor 11, the water-cooled condenser 12, the expansion valve 13, and the chiller 14 via a refrigerant path B1. In addition, an eighth refrigerant path 28 branches off from the third refrigerant path 23. An expansion valve 15 is disposed in the eighth refrigerant path 28, and the eighth refrigerant path 28 is connected to an evaporator 52. A ninth refrigerant path 29 is provided in the evaporator 52, and a check valve 16 is disposed in the ninth refrigerant path 29. A tenth refrigerant path 30 is provided from the check valve 16, and the tenth refrigerant path 30 is connected to the fifth refrigerant path 25.

[0045] The water-cooled condenser 12 is provided with a first coolant flow path 31 into which the coolant is introduced and a second coolant flow path 32 from which the coolant is sent out. The coolant from the second coolant flow path 32 is configured to be able to flow to a heater core 61 of the HVAC unit D. The coolant is sent out from the heater core 61 to an eighth coolant flow path 38.

[0046] The chiller 14 is provided with a third coolant flow path 33 into which the coolant is introduced and a fourth coolant flow path 34 from which the coolant is sent out. The coolant flowing through the fourth coolant flow path 34 is configured to be able to be sent to a ninth coolant flow path 39 via a switching valve 44. The switching valve 44 is also configured to allow the coolant to flow between the switching valve 44 and the evaporator 52. Specifically, the coolant is introduced from the switching valve 44 through a tenth coolant flow path 70 to the evaporator 52, and the coolant is introduced from the evaporator 52 through an eleventh coolant flow path 71 to the switching valve 44.

[0047] The switching valve 44 is configured to be able to switch the flow state of the coolant in the coolant flow path C1 between a fifth state and a sixth state. The fifth state is a state in which the coolant from the chiller 14 is sent to the ninth coolant flow path 39 without flowing to the evaporator 52. The flow state of the coolant refrigerant in such a fifth state is shown in FIG.

[0048] The sixth state is a state in which the coolant from the chiller 14 is circulated through the evaporator 52 and then sent to the ninth coolant flow path 39. This is a state in which the refrigerant from the expansion valve 13 is sent to the evaporator 52. The flow state of the refrigerant in such a sixth state is shown in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, in the sixth state, the coolant is circulated along the chiller 14, the fourth coolant flow path 34, the switching valve 44, the tenth coolant flow path 70, the evaporator 52, the eleventh coolant flow path 71, the switching valve 44, and the ninth coolant flow path 39.

[0049] The switching valve 44 is switched between the fifth state and the sixth state by a control unit (not shown) of the vehicle cooling system A or a higher-level system of the vehicle cooling system A.

[0050] In this embodiment, the evaporator 52 exchanges heat between the outside air and the coolant to cool the vehicle interior. The evaporator 52 is configured to be cooled by the coolant flowing through the chiller 14. The coolant flowing through the chiller 14 is the coolant introduced through the third coolant flow path 33. This coolant is a coolant in a relatively low temperature state among the coolants flowing through the coolant flow path C1. Therefore, by flowing the coolant in such a state through the evaporator 52, the evaporator 52 and its surroundings can be cooled, thereby making it possible to enhance the cooling effect.

[0051] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the evaporator 52 is accommodated in the coolant module C, and the tenth coolant flow path 70 from the switching valve 44 to the evaporator 52 and the eleventh coolant flow path 71 from the evaporator 52 to the switching valve 44 are provided in the coolant module C. This makes it possible to cool the periphery of the evaporator 52 through the tenth coolant flow path 70 and the eleventh coolant flow path 71. As a result, the evaporator 52 is cooled without providing a heat dissipation mechanism such as a heat dissipation fin, so that the cooling performance can be improved without increasing costs. Although the tenth coolant flow path 70 and the eleventh coolant flow path 71 are provided around the evaporator 52, they may be provided along the surface of the evaporator 52 or may be provided as piping closer to the evaporator 52 than the heater core 61.

[0052] 3. Other embodiments Next, other embodiments of the vehicle cooling system A will be described.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the vehicle cooling system A has been described as being integrated with the refrigerant module B, the coolant module C, and the HVAC unit D. However, the vehicle cooling system A may be configured such that the refrigerant module B, the coolant module C, and the HVAC unit D are each configured separately, or any two of the refrigerant module B, the coolant module C, and the HVAC unit D may be integrated.

[0054] 4. Overview of the above embodiment An overview of the vehicle cooling system A described above will now be given.

[0055] (1) A vehicle cooling system A includes a refrigerant module B having a refrigerant path B1 that circulates a refrigerant between a water-cooled condenser (condenser) 12 and a chiller (evaporator) 14, a coolant module C having a coolant path C1 that circulates a coolant that exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the water-cooled condenser 12 and the chiller 14, and an HVAC unit (air conditioning module) D having an evaporator (heat exchanger for cooling) 52 that exchanges heat between outside air and the cooling fluid, and the evaporator 52 is configured to be cooled by the refrigerant or coolant flowing through the chiller 14.

[0056] According to this configuration, the evaporator 52, which performs cooling by exchanging heat between the outside air and the cooling fluid, can be cooled by the refrigerant or cooling liquid. Therefore, since the evaporator 52 is cooled without providing, for example, heat dissipation fins, the cooling performance can be improved without increasing costs. In addition, since there is no need to enlarge the compressor such as the chiller 14 or a compressor in order to improve the cooling performance, there is no increase in power consumption.

[0057] (2) In the vehicle cooling system A described in (1) above, when the cooling fluid is a coolant, it is preferable that the evaporator 52 is cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the chiller 14.

[0058] The temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant passage B1 is lowest when it is introduced from the expansion valve 13 into the chiller 14. Therefore, by cooling the evaporator 52 with the refrigerant introduced into the chiller 14, it is possible to efficiently cool the evaporator 52 and the surroundings of the evaporator 52.

[0059] (3) In the vehicle air conditioning system A described in (1) above, when the cooling fluid is a refrigerant, it is preferable that the evaporator 52 is cooled by the cooling liquid flowing through the chiller 14.

[0060] The temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant passage B1 is the lowest when it is introduced from the expansion valve 13 into the chiller 14. In the chiller 14, heat exchange takes place between the refrigerant and the cooling water. Therefore, by cooling the evaporator 52 with the cooling liquid flowing out of the chiller 14, it becomes possible to efficiently cool the evaporator 52 and the surroundings of the evaporator 52.

[0061] (4) It is preferable that the vehicle cooling system A of any one of (1) to (3) has a refrigerant module B, a coolant module C, and an HVAC unit D integrated together.

[0062] According to this configuration, it is possible to shorten the length of the pipe through which the refrigerant or cooling liquid flows that is provided between the evaporator 52 and the chiller 14. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an increase in cost and weight. [Industrial Applicability]

[0063] The technology disclosed herein can be used in vehicle cooling systems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 12: Water-cooled condenser (condenser), 14: Chiller (evaporator), 52: Evaporator (heat exchanger for cooling), A: Vehicle cooling system, B: Refrigerant module, B1: Refrigerant path, C: Coolant module, C1: Coolant path, D: HVAC unit (air conditioning module)

Claims

1. a refrigerant module having a refrigerant passage for circulating a refrigerant between a condenser and an evaporator; a coolant module having a coolant flow path for circulating a coolant that exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the condenser and the evaporator; an air conditioning module having a cooling heat exchanger for exchanging heat between outside air and a cooling fluid; The vehicle cooling system, wherein the cooling heat exchanger is configured to be cooled by the refrigerant or the cooling liquid flowing through the evaporator.

2. 2. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein when the cooling fluid is the liquid coolant, the air conditioning heat exchanger is cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator.

3. 2. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein, when the cooling fluid is the refrigerant, the air conditioning heat exchanger is cooled by the coolant flowing through the evaporator.

4. 4. The vehicle cooling system according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant module, the coolant module and the air conditioning module are integrated together.

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