Thermal management system

Abstract

The present invention provides a thermal management system that can suppress the time required to raise the temperature of an energy storage device by utilizing the heat generated by the gearbox. [Solution] The thermal management system 100 includes an oil circuit 200 through which oil circulates, an LT circuit 300 through which coolant circulates, an LT radiator 310 provided in the LT circuit 300, and an oil cooler 340 that performs heat exchange between the oil and the coolant. The oil circuit 200 circulates oil to a secondary battery 202 and a transaxle 201 that reduces the rotational speed of the motor 203.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a thermal management system.

Background Art

[0002] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2024-082099 (Patent Document 1) discloses a configuration in which a circulation circuit circulates a lubricating oil composition through a secondary battery, a speed reducer of a motor, and a radiator. The temperature of the secondary battery is controlled by the lubricating oil composition.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In Patent Document 1 described above, as described above, the circulation circuit circulates the lubricating oil composition through the secondary battery, the speed reducer, and the radiator. Here, in order to raise the temperature of the secondary battery, it is conceivable to utilize the heat generated from the speed reducer. In this case, if the amount of the lubricating oil composition circulating in the circulation circuit is large, the time required to raise the temperature of the lubricating oil composition by the heat of the speed reducer becomes long. As a result, the time required to raise the temperature of the secondary battery (power storage device) becomes long.

[0005] This disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a thermal management system capable of suppressing an increase in the time required to raise the temperature of a power storage device by utilizing the heat from a speed reducer.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A thermal management system according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises a first circuit through which a lubricating oil composition circulates, a second circuit through which a coolant circulates, a radiator provided in the second circuit, and a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the lubricating oil composition and the coolant. The first circuit circulates the lubricating oil composition to an energy storage device and a reduction gear that reduces the rotational speed of the motor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, it is possible to suppress the time required to raise the temperature of the energy storage device using the heat generated by the speed reducer. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows the configuration of a thermal management system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows the first communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows the second communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows the third communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows the fourth communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows the fifth communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows the sixth communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows the seventh communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] This figure shows the eighth communication pattern of a thermal management circuit according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to below, the same or equivalent components are given the same number.

[0010] Figure 1 shows the configuration of the thermal management system 100. The thermal management system 100 is used, for example, for thermal management of various devices installed in a vehicle. However, the application of the thermal management system 100 is not limited to vehicles.

[0011] The thermal management system 100 comprises a thermal management circuit 10 and an ECU (Electronic Control unit) 20. The thermal management circuit 10 includes an oil circuit 200, an LT (Low Temperature) circuit 300, and a refrigerant circuit 400. The oil circuit 200 and the LT circuit 300 are examples of the "first circuit" and "second circuit" of this disclosure, respectively.

[0012] The oil circuit 200 is a circuit through which oil circulates. The oil is, for example, ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) used in the transmission of an automatic transmission vehicle. The oil maintains a low viscosity from low temperature to high temperature. For example, the lubricating oil composition disclosed in Patent Document 1 may be used as the oil in the oil circuit 200. Note that the oil is just one example of the "lubricating oil composition" in this disclosure.

[0013] The LT circuit 300 is a circuit through which cooling water circulates. The refrigerant circuit 400 is a circuit through which refrigerant (gas-phase refrigerant or liquid-phase refrigerant) circulates. Note that cooling water is an example of the "coolant" in this disclosure.

[0014] The thermal management system 100 (thermal management circuit 10) includes an electric heater 210, an air-cooled oil cooler 220, a switching valve 230, a switching valve 240, an oil pump 250, and a housing 260, which are provided in the oil circuit 200. The housing 260 houses the transaxle 201, which will be described later. The switching valves 230 and 240 are examples of the "switching valve for the gearbox" and "switching valve for the radiator" as disclosed herein, respectively. The electric heater 210 and the air-cooled oil cooler 220 are examples of the "heater" and "radiator" as disclosed herein, respectively.

[0015] The electric heater 210 heats the oil circulating in the oil circuit 200. The air-cooled oil cooler 220 dissipates the heat of the oil circulating in the oil circuit 200. The air-cooled oil cooler 220 is, for example, a device having a pipe through which oil circulates and fins attached to the pipe.

[0016] The heat management system 100 (heat management circuit 10) includes an LT radiator 310, a reservoir tank 320, a water pump 330, and an oil cooler 340 provided in the LT circuit 300. Note that the LT radiator 310 and the oil cooler 340 are examples of the "radiator" and the "heat exchanger" of the present disclosure, respectively.

[0017] The oil cooler 340 performs heat exchange between the oil circulating in the oil circuit 200 and the cooling water circulating in the LT circuit 300. Specifically, heat exchange is performed between the cooling water flowing through the oil cooler 340 and the oil contacting the oil cooler 340. Details will be described later.

[0018] The LT circuit 300 circulates cooling water to electronic components such as a PCU (Power Control Unit) 301. The PCU 301 converts the DC power supplied from a secondary battery 202, which will be described later, into AC power and supplies the AC power to the motor 203. Note that the above electronic components may include, for example, electronic components included in an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).

[0019] The thermal management system 100 (thermal management circuit 10) includes a chiller 410, an evaporator 420, an indoor condenser 430, an outdoor condenser 440, a switching valve 450, a compressor 460, solenoid valves 470 and 480, and an evaporative pressure regulator (EPR) 490, which are provided in the refrigerant circuit 400. Each of the solenoid valves 470 and 480 has a function of restricting the flow of the refrigerant and a function of expanding the liquid-phase refrigerant according to a control command from the ECU 20 (FIG. 1).

[0020] The ECU 20 controls the thermal management circuit 10. The ECU 20 includes a processor 21, a memory 22, a storage 23, and an interface 24.

[0021] The processor 21 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The memory 22 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage 23 is a rewritable non-volatile memory such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a flash memory. The storage 23 stores a system program including an OS (Operating System) and a control program including computer-readable code necessary for control operations. The processor 21 reads out the system program and the control program, expands them in the memory 22, and executes them to realize various processes. The interface 24 controls the communication between the ECU 20 and the components of the thermal management circuit 10.

[0022] The ECU 20 generates control commands based on sensor values ​​obtained from various sensors included in the thermal management circuit 10, and user operations received via an HMI (Human-machine Interface) (not shown), and outputs the generated control commands to the thermal management circuit 10. The ECU 20 may be divided into multiple ECUs for each function. Also, although Figure 1 shows an example in which the ECU 20 includes one processor 21, the ECU 20 may include multiple processors. The same applies to the memory 22 and storage 23.

[0023] The various sensors described above may include, for example, a temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the secondary battery 202 (battery). The ECU 20 may also control the electric heater 210, switching valves 230, 240, 450, solenoid valves 470, 480, water pump 330, oil pump 250, and compressor 460, etc., according to the control commands described above. The secondary battery 202 is an example of the "energy storage device" described herein.

[0024] In this specification, "processor" is not limited to processors that execute processing using stored-program methods, but may also include hardwired circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays). Therefore, the term "processor" can also be interpreted as processing circuitry in which processing is predefined by computer-readable code and / or hardwired circuits.

[0025] In conventional thermal management systems, the oil circuit circulates oil to the secondary battery, the transaxle, and the LT radiator. In this case, if the amount of oil circulating in the circulation circuit is large, the time required to raise the temperature of the lubricating oil composition by the heat of the transaxle increases. Consequently, the time required to raise the temperature of the secondary battery also increases.

[0026] In this embodiment, the oil circuit 200 circulates oil to the transaxle 201 and the secondary battery 202. That is, the oil circuit 200 does not circulate oil to the LT radiator 310 provided in the LT circuit 300. The oil circuit 200 is isolated from the LT circuit 300. The transaxle 201 is an example of the "speed reducer" of this disclosure.

[0027] With this configuration, the amount of oil circulating in the oil circuit 200 can be made relatively small compared to the case where the oil circuit 200 and the LT circuit 300 are not separated and a common heat transfer medium flows through each circuit. As a result, the time required to raise the temperature of the oil by the heat generated from the transaxle 201 can be shortened. This helps to suppress the time required to raise the temperature of the secondary battery 202.

[0028] The transaxle 201 includes a reduction gear that reduces the rotational speed of the motor 203. Specifically, the transaxle 201 includes a transmission that changes the rotational speed of the motor 203 and a differential gear that distributes driving force to the left and right tires. The motor 203 may be built into the transaxle 201. Furthermore, if the vehicle equipped with the thermal management system 100 is an electric vehicle, an e-axle, which integrates the transaxle 201, the motor 203, and the inverter of the PCU 301, may be installed in the electric vehicle.

[0029] The housing 260 houses the transaxle 201 and the oil cooler 340. Oil flowing into the housing 260 cools the transaxle 201 by coming into contact with it, and then flows out of the housing 260. In addition, some of the oil flowing into the housing 260 (including the oil that cooled the transaxle 201) is drawn up to the oil cooler 340 by an electric oil pump (not shown) located inside the housing 260. This allows for heat exchange between the cooling water circulating in the oil cooler 340 and the oil.

[0030] This configuration facilitates heat exchange between the oil that cools the transaxle 201 and the coolant circulating through the oil cooler 340.

[0031] The oil circuit 200 circulates oil to the motor 203 in addition to the transaxle 201 and the secondary battery 202. For example, the oil may flow inside a rotor shaft (not shown) provided in the motor 203, or it may flow through piping provided in a jacket (not shown) attached to the motor 203.

[0032] With this configuration, the heat generated in the motor 203 can also be used to raise the temperature of the secondary battery 202.

[0033] In the example shown in Figure 1, the motor 203 is housed in the housing 260. However, the placement of the motor 203 is not limited to the example above. The motor 203 may be located outside the housing 260.

[0034] The oil circuit 200 includes path 204 and path 205. Path 204 is provided with a housing 260 (transaxle 201 and motor 203). That is, path 204 is a path where heat exchange takes place between the oil and the transaxle 201 (motor 203). Paths 204 and 205 are examples of the "gearbox arrangement path" and "gearbox bypass path" of this disclosure, respectively.

[0035] If we define the point where paths 204 and 205 connect as connection point 206, then path 204 is the path from switching valve 230 to housing 260 (transaxle 201 and motor 203) to connection point 206. Path 205 is the path from switching valve 230 to connection point 206. In other words, path 205 is a path that bypasses housing 260 (transaxle 201 and motor 203).

[0036] The switching valve 230 switches the oil flow path between path 204 and path 205. That is, the switching valve 230 switches between a state in which oil flows only through path 204 of path 204 and path 205, and a state in which oil flows only through path 205 of path 204 and path 205.

[0037] This allows the degree to which the oil temperature rises due to the heat generated from the transaxle 201 (and motor 203) to be easily adjusted by the switching valve 230.

[0038] The oil circuit 200 includes a path 207 and a path 208. An air-cooled oil cooler 220 is provided in path 207. If the point where path 207 and path 208 are connected is called the connection point 209, then path 207 is the path from the switching valve 240 to the air-cooled oil cooler 220 to the connection point 209. Path 208 is the path from the switching valve 240 to the connection point 209. In other words, path 208 is a path that bypasses the air-cooled oil cooler 220. Note that paths 207 and 208 are examples of the "radiator arrangement path" and "radiator bypass path" of this disclosure, respectively.

[0039] The switching valve 240 switches the oil flow path between path 207 and path 208. That is, the switching valve 240 switches between a state in which oil flows only through path 207 of path 208 and a state in which oil flows only through path 208 of path 207 and path 208.

[0040] This allows the degree to which heat is dissipated from the oil by the air-cooled oil cooler 220 to be easily adjusted by the switching valve 240.

[0041] The oil circuit 200 has a portion 201a and a portion 202a. Portion 201a is the portion in the oil circuit 200 where oil exchanges heat with the transaxle 201. That is, portion 201a may be a portion (space) within the housing 260. Portion 202a is the portion in the oil circuit 200 where oil exchanges heat with the secondary battery 202. For example, portion 202a may be an oil pipe provided in a jacket (not shown) attached to the secondary battery 202. Portion 201a and portion 202a are examples of the "first portion" and "second portion" of this disclosure, respectively.

[0042] The electric heater 210 is positioned between section 201a and section 202a in the oil circuit 200. Specifically, the electric heater 210 is positioned on the path between connection point 206 and section 202a in the oil circuit 200.

[0043] This allows the oil, which has been heated by the heat from the transaxle 201, to be further heated by the electric heater 210.

[0044] The chiller 410 is connected to both the refrigerant circuit 400 and the oil circuit 200. This allows the oil circulating in the oil circuit 200 to be cooled by the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 via the chiller 410.

[0045] Furthermore, the chiller 410 is connected to the flow path between the oil pump 250 and the switching valve 230 in the oil circuit 200. Also, the chiller 410 is connected to the flow path between the solenoid valve 480 and the compressor 460 in the refrigerant circuit 400.

[0046] The refrigerant circuit 400 includes a path 401 and a path 402. An indoor condenser 430 is provided in path 401. If the point where path 401 and path 402 are connected is called connection point 403, then path 401 is the path from the switching valve 450 - indoor condenser 430 - connection point 403. Path 402 is the path from the switching valve 450 - outdoor condenser 440 - connection point 403.

[0047] The switching valve 450 switches the refrigerant flow path between path 401 and path 402. That is, the switching valve 450 switches between a state in which the refrigerant flows only through path 401 of path 401 and a state in which the refrigerant flows only through path 402 of path 401 and path 402.

[0048] <First connection pattern> Figure 2 shows the first communication pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when a request for temperature increase (request for rapid temperature increase) is received for the secondary battery 202. For simplification, the ECU 20 is not shown in Figure 2 and subsequent figures. Also, in Figure 2 and subsequent figures, the flows of oil, coolant, and refrigerant are represented by dashed arrows.

[0049] As shown in Figure 2, the oil flows through path 204 via the switching valve 230. Additionally, the oil flows through path 208 via the switching valve 240. Therefore, the oil in the oil circuit 200 circulates through a closed circuit consisting of switching valve 230 - housing 260 - electric heater 210 - secondary battery 202 (part 202a) - switching valve 240 - oil pump 250 - chiller 410 - switching valve 230. This allows the oil to be heated by the heat generated in the transaxle 201 (and motor 203), while preventing the oil from losing heat due to the air-cooled oil cooler 220.

[0050] Furthermore, the electric heater 210 is operating during this process. This allows the oil, which has been heated by the heat generated in the transaxle 201 (and motor 203), to be further heated by the electric heater 210. The electric heater 210 may be stopped depending on, for example, the temperature of the secondary battery 202.

[0051] In the LT circuit 300, the coolant circulates through a closed circuit consisting of the water pump 330 - PCU 301 - oil cooler 340 - LT radiator 310 - reservoir tank 320 - water pump 330. In this process, the coolant absorbs heat from the outside air via the LT radiator 310. The coolant also absorbs heat from the PCU 301 by cooling it. The coolant then transfers the heat obtained from the outside air and the PCU 301 to the oil in the oil circuit 200 via the oil cooler 340. In other words, in the circuit shown in Figure 2, it is possible to raise the temperature of the secondary battery 202 by utilizing the heat supplied from the coolant in the LT circuit 300.

[0052] In the refrigerant circuit 400, the refrigerant is not circulating. For example, the circulation of the refrigerant may be stopped because the compressor 460 is stopped. Alternatively, in addition to stopping the compressor 460, the solenoid valves 470 and 480 may be controlled to be in a closed state.

[0053] <Second connection pattern> Figure 3 shows the second communication pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when cooling of electronic components such as the PCU301, the secondary battery 202, and cooling is required.

[0054] As shown in Figure 3, the oil flows through path 205 via the switching valve 230. The oil also flows through path 207 via the switching valve 240. Therefore, the oil in the oil circuit 200 circulates through a closed circuit consisting of switching valve 230 - electric heater 210 - secondary battery 202 (part 202a) - switching valve 240 - air-cooled oil cooler 220 - oil pump 250 - chiller 410 - switching valve 230. During this process, the electric heater 210 is stopped. As a result, the air-cooled oil cooler 220 dissipates heat from the oil, thus cooling the secondary battery 202.

[0055] In the LT circuit 300, the cooling water that has absorbed the heat from the PCU 301 dissipates the heat to the outside air via the LT radiator 310.

[0056] In the refrigerant circuit 400, the switching valve 450 selects path 402 as the refrigerant flow path. Also, the solenoid valves 470 and 480 are controlled to be in the open state. Therefore, the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 circulates through a first closed circuit consisting of switching valve 450 - outdoor condenser 440 - solenoid valve 480 - chiller 410 - compressor 460 - switching valve 450, and a second closed circuit consisting of switching valve 450 - outdoor condenser 440 - solenoid valve 470 - evaporator 420 - EPR 490 - compressor 460 - switching valve 450.

[0057] The heat from the oil circulating in the oil circuit 200 is transferred to the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 via the chiller 410. The outdoor condenser 440 dissipates the heat from the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 to the outside air. This lowers the temperature of the refrigerant, causing it to change into the liquid phase. The refrigerant that has flowed through the outdoor condenser 440 passes through the solenoid valve 470 and flows into the evaporator 420. This activates the cooling system.

[0058] <Third connection pattern> Figure 4 shows the third communication pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when cooling and cooling of electronic components such as the PCU 301 are required, and there are no requirements regarding the secondary battery 202.

[0059] In oil circuit 200, oil is not circulating because oil pump 250 is stopped. Also, electric heater 210 is stopped.

[0060] The LT circuit 300 is in the same state as in Figure 3, so no repeated explanation will be given.

[0061] In the refrigerant circuit 400, the refrigerant flows through path 402 via a switching valve 450. Furthermore, the solenoid valve 470 is controlled to be open, while the solenoid valve 480 is controlled to be closed. Therefore, the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 circulates through a closed circuit consisting of switching valve 450 - outdoor condenser 440 - solenoid valve 470 - evaporator 420 - EPR 490 - compressor 460 - switching valve 450. The outdoor condenser 440 dissipates the heat from the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 to the outside air.

[0062] <Fourth connection pattern> Figure 5 shows the fourth communication pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when cooling and cooling of electronic components such as the PCU 301 are required, and temperature equalization of the secondary battery 202 is also required.

[0063] In the oil circuit 200, the oil flows through path 205 via switching valve 230. Additionally, the oil flows through path 208 via switching valve 240. Therefore, the oil in the oil circuit 200 circulates through a closed circuit consisting of switching valve 230 - electric heater 210 - secondary battery 202 (part 202a) - switching valve 240 - oil pump 250 - chiller 410 - switching valve 230. Note that the electric heater 210 is stopped.

[0064] The LT circuit 300 is in the same state as in Figures 3 and 4, so no repeated explanation will be given.

[0065] The refrigerant circuit 400 is in the same state as in Figure 4, so no further explanation will be given.

[0066] Therefore, the oil in the oil circuit 200 is not subjected to heat exchange in the oil cooler 340, the chiller 410, or the air-cooled oil cooler 220.

[0067] <5th connection pattern> Figure 6 shows the fifth connection pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when heating using heat from the outside air (heat pump heating) is required.

[0068] The oil flows through path 204 via the switching valve 230. The oil also flows through path 208 via the switching valve 240. Therefore, the oil in the oil circuit 200 circulates through a closed circuit consisting of switching valve 230 - housing 260 - electric heater 210 - secondary battery 202 (part 202a) - switching valve 240 - oil pump 250 - chiller 410 - switching valve 230. Note that the electric heater 210 is stopped during this process.

[0069] The LT circuit 300 will be in the same state as the LT circuit 300 in Figure 2, so no further explanation will be given.

[0070] In the refrigerant circuit 400, the refrigerant flows through path 401 via the switching valve 450. Furthermore, the solenoid valve 470 is controlled to be in the closed state and the solenoid valve 480 is in the open state. Therefore, the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 circulates through a closed circuit consisting of switching valve 450 - indoor condenser 430 - solenoid valve 480 - chiller 410 - compressor 460 - switching valve 450.

[0071] As a result, the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 400 receives heat from the oil in the oil circuit 200 via the chiller 410. The refrigerant that has received heat via the chiller 410 is transformed into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas by passing through the compressor 460, and then flows into the indoor condenser 430. The indoor condenser 430 releases the heat from the gas into the room (for example, the interior of a vehicle), thereby realizing heat pump heating.

[0072] <6th connection pattern> Figure 7 shows the sixth connection pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when heating using the electric heater 210 (HVH heating) is required.

[0073] The oil flows through path 205 via the switching valve 230. The oil also flows through path 208 via the switching valve 240. Therefore, the oil in the oil circuit 200 circulates through a closed circuit consisting of switching valve 230 - electric heater 210 - secondary battery 202 (part 202a) - switching valve 240 - oil pump 250 - chiller 410 - switching valve 230. The electric heater 210 is operating during this process.

[0074] In the LT circuit 300, as shown in Figure 3, the cooling water that has absorbed heat from the PCU 301 dissipates the heat to the outside air via the LT radiator 310.

[0075] The refrigerant circuit 400 is the same as in Figure 6, so no repeated explanation will be given.

[0076] <7th connection pattern> Figure 8 shows the seventh connection pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when rapid heating using both heat pump heating and HVH heating is required.

[0077] The oil circuit 200 differs from that in Figure 6 only in that the electric heater 210 is operating. The states of the LT circuit 300 and the refrigerant circuit 400 are the same as in Figure 6. This enables rapid heating using the heat from the outside air absorbed by the LT radiator 310 and the heat from the electric heater 210.

[0078] <8th connection pattern> Figure 9 shows the eighth communication pattern of the thermal management circuit 10 when, for example, there is a request for heating of the secondary battery 202 (a request for normal heating). Note that normal heating means heating at a lower heating rate than the rapid heating shown in Figure 2.

[0079] The oil circuit 200 is in the same state as the oil circuit 200 in Figure 7. In the LT circuit 300, the cooling water is not circulating. In the refrigerant circuit 400, the refrigerant is not circulating. In the example shown in Figure 9, the secondary battery 202 is heated only by the heat of the electric heater 210.

[0080] As described above, in this embodiment, the thermal management system 100 includes an oil circuit 200 through which oil circulates, and an LT circuit 300 through which coolant circulates and an LT radiator 310 is provided. The oil circuit 200 circulates oil between the secondary battery 202 and the transaxle 201. As a result, the oil circulating circuit can be made smaller because the oil does not circulate through the LT radiator 310. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of circulating oil. This allows the oil to be easily heated by the heat generated from the transaxle 201. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the time required to heat the secondary battery 202 using the heat from the transaxle 201.

[0081] [Differentiation] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the cooling water of the oil cooler 340 and the oil of the oil circuit 200 are heat-exchanged within the housing 260 that houses the transaxle 201, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the cooling water of the oil cooler 340 and the oil of the oil circuit 200 may be heat-exchanged within a housing located between the transaxle 201 and the secondary battery 202.

[0082] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the cooling water and oil exchange heat using an oil cooler 340, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The cooling water and oil may exchange heat without using an oil cooler 340. For example, the cooling water and oil may exchange heat by having a passage through which the cooling water flows and a passage through which the oil flows adjacent to each other via a heat conductive material or the like.

[0083] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the oil circuit 200 also circulates oil to the motor 203, but the disclosure is not limited to this. Oil does not need to be circulated to the motor 203.

[0084] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the transaxle 201 is housed in the housing 260, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Only the reduction gear (transmission) of the transaxle 201 may be housed in the housing 260.

[0085] In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which an electric heater 210 is provided in the oil circuit 200, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The oil circuit 200 does not need to be provided with an electric heater 210.

[0086] It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of this disclosure is defined by the claims rather than the description of the embodiments above, and includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 100 Thermal management system, 200 Oil circuit (first circuit), 201 Transaxle (reducer), 201a section (first section), 202 Secondary battery (energy storage device), 202a section (second section), 203 Motor, 204 Route (reducer placement route), 205 Route (reducer bypass route), 207 Route (radiator placement route), 208 Route (radiator bypass route), 210 Electric heater (heater), 220 Air-cooled oil cooler (radiator), 230 Switching valve (switching valve for reducer), 240 Switching valve (switching valve for radiator), 260 Housing, 300 LT circuit (second circuit), 310 LT radiator (radiator), 340 Oil cooler (heat exchanger), 400 Refrigerant circuit, 410 Chiller.

Claims

1. A first circuit through which the lubricating oil composition circulates, The second circuit through which the coolant circulates, A radiator provided in the second circuit, The system includes a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the lubricating oil composition and the coolant, The first circuit is a thermal management system that circulates the lubricating oil composition between an energy storage device and a reduction gear that reduces the rotational speed of a motor.

2. Chiller, It further includes a refrigerant circuit through which the refrigerant flows, The thermal management system according to claim 1, wherein the chiller is connected to the refrigerant circuit and the first circuit, respectively.

3. The first circuit further includes a switching valve for the reduction gear, The first circuit is, The reduction gear arrangement path in which the reduction gear is provided, Includes a reduction gear bypass path that bypasses the reduction gear, The thermal management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the switching valve for the speed reducer switches the flow path of the lubricating oil composition between the speed reducer arrangement path and the speed reducer bypass path.

4. A heat sink is provided in the first circuit for dissipating heat from the lubricating oil composition, The first circuit further includes a heat sink switching valve, The first circuit is, The heat sink arrangement path on which the heat sink is provided, The heat sink bypass path includes the heat sink bypass path, The heat management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat sink switching valve switches the flow path of the lubricating oil composition between the heat sink arrangement path and the heat sink bypass path.

5. The thermal management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat exchanger includes an oil cooler provided in the second circuit.

6. The first circuit further comprises a housing, The thermal management system according to claim 5, wherein the housing accommodates the reduction gear and the oil cooler.

7. The first circuit further includes a heater, The thermal management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heater is positioned between a first portion in the first circuit in which the lubricating oil composition exchanges heat with the reduction gear and a second portion in the first circuit in which the lubricating oil composition exchanges heat with the energy storage device.

8. The thermal management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first circuit circulates the lubricating oil composition to the motor.

Images