Assembly for temperature control circuit

Abstract

To provide an assembly for a temperature control circuit that can be manufactured readily and inexpensively.SOLUTION: An assembly 1 for a temperature control circuit includes a housing 2 in which at least one channel 3 is formed for transporting temperature control media. In the assembly 1 for a temperature control circuit, the wall of the housing 2 is formed of sheet metal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an assembly for a temperature regulation circuit, comprising a housing having at least one passage formed therein for transporting a temperature regulation medium.

[0002] Such an assembly is known, for example, from US Patent Application Publication No. 2019 / 0039440. The assembly shown there is used in electromobility, where particularly high demands are placed on the air conditioning system. This poses the requirement that only limited construction space is available and that the air conditioning system must be constructed in a particularly compact manner. Furthermore, in addition to the vehicle compartment, it may be necessary to air-condition further components, such as the electric motor, the power electronics, the charging unit and the power storage cells.

[0003] Since electric vehicles only have optimal efficiency in a limited temperature range, it may be necessary to heat or cool the components connected to the air conditioning system depending on the climatic conditions and the required power. This requires a complex control of the components and a complex guidance of the temperature-regulating medium, so that the assembly has several fluid passages and is equipped with several valves. In this regard, it is known from the prior art to provide a tube assembly in the form of a cast part in which several fluid passages are formed. However, this type of housing is relatively complex to manufacture.

[0004] Temperature regulation, in particular cooling, can be achieved by means of a refrigerant circuit in which a temperature regulation medium circulates in the form of a refrigerant, for example CO2 (R722), halogenated hydrocarbons (R1234yf) or a hydrocarbon, for example propane (R290). In the case of a refrigerant circuit based on CO2 as refrigerant, a high system pressure of 170 bar exists inside the circuit. In this case, the temperature of the CO2-based refrigerant varies between -40°C and 180°C. With a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant, the temperature varies between -20°C and 160°C at a pressure of 1 bar to 35 bar.

[0005] The problem underlying the invention is to provide an assembly for a temperature regulating circuit which can be manufactured simply and inexpensively.

[0006] This problem is solved by the features of claim 1. The dependent claims relate to advantageous configurations.

[0007] The assembly according to the invention for a temperature regulation circuit comprises a housing in which at least one passage for transporting a temperature regulation medium is formed, the base wall being made from sheet metal.

[0008] The housing can be manufactured particularly inexpensively using sheet metal construction. Sheet steel and aluminum come into consideration in particular here. Sheet metal is available in a large number of steel or aluminum qualities and wall thicknesses and can be particularly easily formed. Depending on the shaping of the housing, this results in a housing that can withstand high mechanical and thermal loads and is therefore also suitable for transporting CO2 as a cooling or temperature-regulating medium.

[0009] Preferably, the housing has at least one first housing part and a second housing part. The housing parts can be manufactured separately and then joined to form the housing. This allows the construction of housings with a wide variety of shapes, which allows the assembly to be optimally adapted to the available construction space and the requirements imposed on the temperature regulation. In constructions with more than two housing parts, the passages separated from one another can be formed by particularly simple means.

[0010] In this case, the housing part can be formed in particular as a deep-drawn or stamped part. In this case, a plate-like sheet metal section is first prepared and is brought to the desired shape by deep-drawing or stamping. A number of openings can be machined in the housing, in which case it is possible, in particular, to machine the openings in the housing part in one go together with the shaping. This reduces the number of manufacturing steps required for the production of the assembly and thus also the costs. In particular, when higher demands are placed on the tolerances, the housing part can also be formed as a turned or milled part. In this connection, it is possible, in particular, to first produce the housing part by deep-drawing and then to machine the openings in the housing part by a turning or milling method, so that a particularly precise fit in the openings can be achieved. If the housing part is produced by stamping, this housing part can also be subsequently machined by turning or milling.

[0011] Functional elements may be inserted into the interior and / or openings of the housing, such as valves, check valves, sensors, heat exchangers, expansion valves or the like.

[0012] The functional element can be attached in a form-locking and / or material-locking manner in the opening of the housing part. In the case of a material-locking connection, the functional element is already connected to the housing in a medium-tight manner by this connection. In the case of a form-locking connection, a separate sealing element, for example an O-ring, can also be provided. In this case, the sealing seat for the sealing element provided in the housing part can be produced by stamping. Advantageously, an additional manufacturing step for producing the sealing seat can then be omitted.

[0013] A plurality of passages may be formed in the housing, so that different temperature-regulating media can be guided through the assembly or one type of temperature-regulating medium of the cooling circuit can flow through the assembly in different condensation states. In a first passage, the transfer of the refrigerant can take place between the condenser and the evaporator, in which the refrigerant is in liquid form. In a second passage, the transfer can take place between the evaporator and the compressor, in which the refrigerant is in gaseous form. The transfer can also take place in the direction of another component. It is also possible that an expansion valve is formed in the housing and is assigned to one of the passages.

[0014] A separating element made of sheet metal can be arranged between the housing parts, preferably designed to separate the passages, the sheet metal being able to be of planar design in a simple and inexpensive manner.

[0015] However, it is also possible for the separation element to be three-dimensionally shaped. This shaping can also be achieved by stamping. In principle, separation elements made from sheet metal can be produced inexpensively, and stamping allows the production of separation elements with a wide variety of shapes. In addition to stamping, shaping can also be achieved by deep drawing.

[0016] It is also possible for the separating element to be designed as an internal heat exchanger. In this case, it is advantageous if the separating element has a surface area which is increased by three-dimensional shaping. This can be achieved by forming projections and depressions on the separating element, which can be in particular in the form of beads.

[0017] An internal heat exchanger can thermally couple the section of the refrigerant circuit extending between the evaporator and the compressor to the section of the refrigerant circuit extending between the condenser and the expansion valve, and the internal heat exchange can increase the efficiency of the refrigerant circuit.

[0018] The housing parts can be connected to one another via a welded or soldered connection, by which the housing parts are connected to one another in a medium-tight and undetachable manner.

[0019] The housing parts can alternatively be connected to one another via a screw fastening. In this case, at least one sealing element is preferably arranged between the housing parts. Connecting the housing parts to one another via a screw fastening is associated with higher costs than the construction of a material-tight connection. However, it is advantageous if the housing parts can be disassembled without destruction. A medium-tight connection between the housing parts is achieved by the sealing element arranged between the housing parts.

[0020] The assembly can form a distribution structure of an air conditioning installation, where the assembly distributes the temperature-conditioning medium to the components connected to it. The incorporation of valves in the form of directional, proportional or non-return valves allows the transfer to the connected components as required.

[0021] In particular, the assembly can form a distribution structure of an air conditioning system for an electric vehicle, in which the distribution structure can selectively regulate the temperature of the interior of the electric vehicle and / or components of the electric drive.

[0022] The structure of the assembly will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the assembly. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the assembly.

[0024] In each figure an assembly 1 for a temperature conditioning circuit is shown. The assembly 1 forms a component of the refrigerant circuit of an air conditioning installation and serves as a distribution structure in the air conditioning installation. The assembly 1 comprises a housing 2 in which at least one passage 3 is processed for transporting a temperature conditioning medium. The temperature conditioning medium is here a refrigerant, in particular CO2 (R744) or a halogenated hydrocarbon (R1234yf). The assembly 1 supplies the refrigerant to the various components of the refrigerant circuit.

[0025] The components of the refrigerant circuit may be directly connected to the housing 2. Depending on the available construction space and the spacing between the components, these components may also be connected to the housing 2 via piping.

[0026] In this case, the components of the refrigerant circuit are in particular heat exchangers, evaporators, chillers, condensers, gas coolers, battery cooling plates, compressors and accumulators, which can be selectively controlled by the assembly 1 to supply the components with refrigerant.

[0027] The wall of the housing 2 is formed from a metal sheet. In this configuration, the metal sheet is a steel plate having a thickness of 3 mm. Preferably, the wall thickness of the housing 2 is 1 mm to 5 mm.

[0028] The housing 2 has a first housing part 4 and a second housing part 5, the housing parts 4, 5 being formed as stamped parts. A number of openings 6 are machined into the housing parts 4, 5 and thus into the housing 2. The shaping of the housing parts 4, 5 and the machining of the openings 6 are carried out in one working step in a stamping process. To produce the housing parts 4, 5, a sheet metal is first prepared in the form of a plate and is shaped by stamping. In this case, the stamping of the outer contour of the housing parts 4, 5, the three-dimensional shaping and the machining of the openings 6 into the housing parts 4, 5 are carried out in one working step.

[0029] In this configuration, the housing parts 4, 5 are connected to one another in a material-fastening manner via a welded connection. Alternatively, it is also possible to connect the housing parts 4, 5 to one another via a soldered connection. In another alternative configuration, the housing parts 4, 5 can also be connected to one another via a screw fastening. At least in the case of a screw fastening, a sealing element in the form of a gasket or in the form of a contour seal applied to the housing parts is arranged between the housing parts 4, 5.

[0030] The functional elements 7 include sensors in the form of temperature sensors, pressure sensors and volume flow sensors as well as valves in the form of solenoid switching valves, directional control valves, overpressure valves and check valves.

[0031] A separating element 8 made of sheet metal is arranged between the housing parts 4, 5. The separating element 8 separates the two passages 3, 3' from each other. The separating element 8 thus allows the arrangement of several passages 3, 3' in the interior of the housing 2.

[0032] The separating element 8 is made of sheet metal, in particular steel sheet, and has a wall thickness of 1 mm. In the present configuration, the separating element 8 is machined with protrusions and recesses in the form of beads and serves as an internal heat exchanger. In an alternative configuration, the separating element 8 is formed in the shape of a plate.

[0033] 1 shows an assembly 1 in a cross-section with a housing 2 consisting of two housing parts 4, 5 connected to one another in a material-tight manner. Openings 6 are machined into the housing 2, in which functional elements 7 in the form of two directional control valves and a check valve are arranged. The functional elements 7 are inserted into the openings 6 and are connected to the housing 2 in a medium-tight manner by means of O-ring seals. Furthermore, openings are machined into the separating element 8, so that the functional elements 7 can extend through the separating element 8 and connect the passages 3, 3' to one another.

[0034] Figure 2 shows in detail the housing 2 of the assembly 1 of Figure 1, in which the housing part 4 does not extend completely over the housing 2. A planar separation element 8 is arranged between the housing parts 4, 5. Since the housing part 4 does not completely cover the separation element 8, the separation element 8 also partially serves as the outer wall of the housing 2. This arrangement is particularly space-saving.

Claims

1. An assembly (1) for a temperature regulating circuit comprising a housing (2) in which at least one passage (3) for transporting a temperature regulating medium is formed, characterized in that the walls of the housing (2) are made from sheet metal.

2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises at least one first housing part (4) and a second housing part (5).

3. 3. An assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the housing parts (4, 5) are formed as deep-drawn or stamped parts.

4. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the housing (2) is machined with a number of openings (6).

5. 5. An assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that a functional element (7) is arranged in said opening (6).

6. 6. An assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that in the housing (2) a number of passages (3, 3') are formed.

7. 7. An assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that a separating element (8) made of sheet metal is arranged between the housing parts (4, 5).

8. Assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that said separating element (8) separates said passages (3, 3').

9. 9. An assembly according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the separation element (8) is formed as an internal heat exchanger.

10. 10. An assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that the housing parts (4, 5) are connected to one another via a welded or soldered connection.

11. Assembly according to claim 10, characterized in that the housing parts (4, 5) are connected to each other in a medium-tight manner.

12. 10. An assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that the housing parts (4, 5) are connected to one another via a screw fastening.

13. Assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 11, characterized in that at least one sealing element is arranged between the housing parts (4, 5).

14. A distribution structure for transporting a temperature-regulating medium, comprising an assembly (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A refrigerant circuit for an electric vehicle, comprising the distribution structure according to claim 14.

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