KR100536335B1 - Apparatus and method for controlling battery temperature of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is installed around the battery can block the heat transmitted from the engine, the heat exchange plate through which the heat pipe for heat exchange plate passes; A cooling heat pipe extending to a cooling point of at least one of a point at which cooling is possible by outside air or an adjacent point of the evaporator; Heat insulation heat pipe extended to a heat source point; The heat pipe for heat exchange plate extending from the heat exchange plate, the cooling heat pipe and the heat insulation heat pipe are respectively connected, and the flow path of the working fluid in the heat pipe for heat exchange plate is the cooling heat pipe or the heat insulation heat pipe. Fluid path control unit for converting to; And a control unit connected to the fluid path control unit to control the flow path using information detected from sensors of the vehicle. According to the present invention, since the heat pipe absorbs the heat of the battery and cools it at the cooling point, or the heat pipe absorbs the engine heat, the heat pipe can be kept warm, so that the vehicle battery can be maintained within the optimum temperature range. Done.

Description

Vehicle battery temperature control and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING BATTERY TEMPERATURE OF VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to a vehicle battery temperature control apparatus and method, and more particularly to a vehicle battery temperature control apparatus and method that can maintain the temperature of the vehicle battery in the optimum range by using a heat pipe (heat pipe).

A vehicle battery is a device that supplies electricity to various electric components and supplies electric current so that engine operation is performed at the start of the engine, and is generally installed in an engine room of a vehicle. The battery of such a vehicle is affected by temperature, which shortens the life when the ambient temperature is too low or too high and adversely affects the charge / discharge system. In particular, when the thermal damage of the engine located in the engine room or the overcharge caused by the generator overheating, the life of the battery is drastically deteriorated, there is a risk of explosion.

Conventionally, to protect the battery from such thermal damage to cover the engine to block the heat of the engine, but this only has the effect of blocking the heat of the engine only limited, does not significantly affect the temperature drop of the battery.

In addition, the structure of protecting the battery with a conventional protective cover is only a structure for preventing overheating, when the temperature of the battery is cooled to an appropriate range or less due to the cold or the like did not protect the battery at an appropriate temperature.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, when the temperature of the battery using the heat pipe is more than the optimum range, the heat of the battery is moved to the cooling point to cool, the heat source if the temperature of the battery is less than the optimum range SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a battery temperature control apparatus and method capable of absorbing heat from a point to insulate a battery to maintain the temperature of the battery in an optimal range.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle battery temperature control apparatus and method that can prevent the battery from overheating while driving by varying the cooling point, or when the vehicle is slow or idle in areas with high outside temperature. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, is installed around the battery can block the heat transmitted from the engine, the heat exchange plate through which the heat pipe for heat exchange plate passes inside, at least a point that can be cooled by the outside air or the evaporator adjacent point A cooling heat pipe extending to one cooling point, a heat insulating pipe extending to a heat source point, a heat pipe for heat exchange plate extending from the heat exchange plate, each of the cooling heat pipe and the heat insulating pipe, A fluid path adjusting unit for converting a flow path of the working fluid in the heat pipe for heat exchange plate into the cooling heat pipe or the heat insulating pipe, and using the information detected from sensors of the vehicle connected to the fluid path adjusting unit To maintain the temperature of the battery within the optimum range. It provides a vehicle battery temperature control device comprises a control unit that controls.

According to one feature of the invention, the cooling point that can be cooled by the outside air is set to an apilah.

According to another feature of the present invention, the cooling point includes an apila and an evaporator adjacent point, and the control unit receives one of the cooling point by receiving information on whether the vehicle air conditioner switch operation.

In addition, the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a vehicle battery temperature control method using a heat pipe, the battery temperature measuring step of detecting the temperature of the battery; Controlling a flow path such that the working fluid in the heat pipe for heat exchange plate moves to a heat source point when the temperature of the battery measured in the battery temperature measuring step is less than a predetermined optimum temperature range; An outside air temperature comparing step of comparing the outside air temperature when the temperature of the battery measured in the battery temperature measuring step exceeds a preset optimum temperature range; Controlling the flow path to move the working fluid to a cooling point that can be cooled by the outside air when the outside air temperature is less than a preset outside temperature in the outside air temperature comparison step; And when the outside air temperature exceeds the preset outside temperature in the step of comparing the outside temperature, determining whether the vehicle speed exceeds the preset vehicle speed and whether the air conditioner switch is operated, and when the vehicle air conditioner is operated while the vehicle speed is less than the preset vehicle speed. The flow path is controlled so that the working fluid moves to the cooling point located at the evaporator in-point, and if the vehicle speed exceeds the preset vehicle speed or the vehicle air conditioner is not operated, the working fluid moves to the cooling point that can be cooled by the outside air. It provides a vehicle battery temperature control method comprising the step of controlling.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to the present invention is a device for maintaining the battery in the optimum temperature range using the heat pipe. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a view for explaining an example of a heat exchange plate of the vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a cooling set in accordance with the present invention 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an apila of a vehicle that is a point, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are views for explaining a flow path control unit according to embodiments of the present invention.

As known in the art, the heat pipe is a structure in which the inner surface of the pipe is precisely processed into a capillary structure to completely seal the working liquid. The heat pipe absorbs heat from the high temperature side and moves heat to one side of the pipe to liquefy condensation. The condensate is circulated back to the high temperature side and transfers heat while repeating the process of re-evaporation. In other words, the phase change of the working fluid is repeated to transfer heat. These heat pipes are easy to manufacture and excellent in performance, and various applications are expected.

The working fluid in the heat pipe uses various fluids according to the operating temperature. Table 1 summarizes the working fluids available according to the operating temperature in the heat pipe.

Operating temperature (℃) Main working fluid -270 to -70 Hellum, Argon, Krypton, Nitrogen, Methane -70 to 200 Water, freon refrigerant, ammonia, acetone, methanol, ethanol 200 to 500 Naphthalene, sulfur, mercury 500 to 1000 Cesium, potassium, sodium  More than 1000 Lithium, lead, silver

Since the electrolyte of the vehicle battery has a temperature change in the range of about -30 ° C to 100 ° C due to the external environment, the present invention uses distilled water as a working fluid capable of transferring such a heat source.

Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to the present invention includes a heat exchange plate 10 installed around a battery 1, and a heat pipe 20 for heat exchange plate embedded in the heat exchange plate 10. It is connected to the fluid path control unit 30 and the fluid path control unit 30 includes heat pipes (40, 50, 60) extending to the cooling point (92, 94) and the heat source point 96, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat exchange plate 10 is installed around the battery 10 so that heat of the engine 5 is not directly transmitted to the battery 1, and the heat pipe 10 for the heat exchange plate is inside. ) Is arranged in a zigzag shape. Preferably, a through hole (not shown) is formed at a side facing the battery 1 in the heat exchange plate 10 so that heat absorption or heat emission through the heat pipe 20 for the heat exchange plate may more directly affect the temperature of the battery. It's crazy.

The heat pipe 20 for the heat exchange plate extends to the outside through one side of the heat exchange plate 10, and the extension part is connected to one side of the fluid path control unit 30. A plurality of heat pipes are connected to the other side of the fluid path control unit 30 and extend to the cooling points 92 and 94 and the heat source point 96.

The cooling point is a point for cooling the heat transferred through the heat pipe when the temperature of the battery exceeds the optimum range. Although various cooling points may be selected, in this embodiment, the cooling point 92 is set to the cooling point 92 which is located at the front of the vehicle and is advantageous to directly receive the driving wind caused by the vehicle driving. However, the cooling point is not limited to the apila 8 but may be selected as the front surface of the radiator.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a plurality of through holes 9 are formed in the apila 8, which is a cooling point 92 using a driving wind or an outside air temperature, so that the outside air can communicate with each other, and the cooling heat pipe 40 is formed. In the vicinity of the end, a heat radiation fin (not shown) is attached to increase the cooling efficiency.

Since the battery 1 is heated by driving of the vehicle, it is generally possible to keep the battery 1 within an optimum temperature range by cooling the battery 1 using the traveling wind. However, when the vehicle slows down in an area where the outside air temperature is high or when the stopping time lasts for a long time, the cooling effect due to the running wind is lowered. Accordingly, the present invention provides a case in which the battery is not cooled to the desired range due to the driving wind, and in another embodiment, in addition to the cooling point 92 caused by the driving wind, when the slow air stops or stops for a long time in an area where the outside air temperature is high. A vehicle battery temperature control device with an additional cooling point 94 for heat pipe cooling is proposed.

Generally, in areas with high outside temperatures, the driver operates the vehicle air conditioner. At this time, the evaporator 6 absorbs the surrounding heat while the refrigerant evaporates. Thus, another embodiment of the present invention selects a point adjacent to the evaporator 6 as another cooling point 94 to extend the heat pipe 50. Since the heat pipe 50 is disposed at a point adjacent to the evaporator 6, when the vehicle air conditioner is operated, the vehicle is in an idle state, or in a slow motion, the heat transferred from the battery 1 is cooled by the latent heat absorption of the evaporator. It is done.

The heat source point 96 is a point at which the battery 1 can be kept warm by supplying heat to the battery in a cold weather or an area where the outside air temperature is very low. Since the engine 5 continuously generates heat when the vehicle is operating, a point adjacent to the engine 5 is selected as the heat source point 96. Therefore, in an extremely cold or outdoor air temperature region, heat of the heat source point is transferred to the heat exchange plate 10 through the heat pipe 60 to supply heat to the battery 1. Therefore, the electrolyte of the battery 1 is prevented from being cooled below the proper temperature, thereby keeping the performance of the battery 1 constant.

4 shows an example of the fluid path control unit 30. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the apila 8 capable of cooling using the driving wind is the cooling point 92, and the engine 1 is shown. The fluid path control unit 30 when the adjacent point is selected as the heat source point 96 is shown. 5 shows another embodiment of the fluid path control unit 30, in which the adjacent points of the apilar 8 and the evaporator 6 are set to cooling points 92 and 94, respectively, and the engine 5 adjacent points. The fluid path control unit 30 'in the case where the heat source point 96 is selected is shown.

Referring to FIG. 4, the fluid path control unit 30 converts the moving path of the fluid using the solenoid 32. The path conversion part 34 is located in the body of the fluid path control part 30, and the heat pipe 20 for heat exchange plate extending from the inside of the heat exchange plate 10 is connected to one side, and the heat source point 96 is connected to the other side. The heat pipe 60 for thermal insulation extended to and the heat pipe 40 for cooling extended to the cooling point 92 are connected. Accordingly, the path change unit 34 is moved by controlling the power supplied to the solenoid 32, thereby allowing the fluid to flow to the cooling point 92 or to move the fluid to the heat source point 96.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the cooling point is selected as a plurality of points, the fluid path control unit 30 ′ has a structure in which a plurality of fluid path control units 30 shown in FIG. 4 are connected. That is, the heat pipe 20 for the heat exchanger plate extending from the inside of the heat exchange plate is connected to one side, the heat insulating heat pipe 60 and the connection heat pipe 45 connected to the heat source point 96 to the other side is connected 1 is connected to the first fluid path control unit 30a through the fluid path control unit 30a and the connection heat pipe 45 connected to one side, and the cooling heat pipe extending to the apila 8 to the other side ( 40 and a second fluid path control unit 30b connected to a cooling heat pipe 50 extending to an adjacent point of the evaporator 6 which is a cooling point using latent heat of evaporation. Therefore, by simultaneously controlling the path changing units 32a and 32b of the first fluid path control unit 30a and the second fluid path control unit 30b, the fluid to the selected cooling point 92 or 94 or the heat source point 96 is controlled. Is controllable to flow.

In the present embodiment, the fluid path adjusting units 30 and 30 'are configured by using the solenoids 32, 32a, and 32b. However, the first fluid path adjusting unit (3) 30a) and the second fluid path control unit 30b may be integrally formed. The present invention is not limited by the configuration of the fluid path control unit 30, 30 '.

The fluid path control unit 30, 30 ′ is controlled by the control unit 100. The controller 100 determines and controls the flow path of the working fluid in the heat pipes 20, 40, 50, and 60 using information input through an outside air temperature sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and a water temperature sensor that are generally installed in a vehicle. do. In particular, a vehicle equipped with a FATC system includes an outside temperature sensor, a water temperature sensor, an air temperature sensor, and a vehicle speed sensor, and a MCU is mounted as a controller. The controller according to the present invention may be set as a MCU of a FATC system. It can also be set to ECU. Of course, separate control means may be set.

More preferably, a temperature sensor (not shown) is attached adjacent to the battery 1 to measure the temperature of the battery. The temperature sensor detects a case in which the battery 1 is heated by ambient heat, overheated by overcharging by electric current, or when it is overcooled by ambient temperature, and the control unit 100 receives the information and the information input through the temperature sensor. The fluid path control unit is controlled by using the information input through the other sensor.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling point is set to the adjacent point of the apila and the evaporator, the vehicle battery having a fluid path control unit 30 'consisting of the first and second fluid path control unit (30a, 30b) The operation of the temperature controller will be described.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle battery temperature control method by the vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, when no power is supplied to the solenoids 32a and 32b, the working fluid in the heat pipe is initially set to circulate between the heat exchange plate 10 and the cooling point 92 toward the apila 8. In addition, for convenience of explanation, the case in which the flow path is adjusted so that the working fluid in the heat pipe extending from the heat exchanger in the fluid path control unit (30, 30 ') flows into the heat-insulating heat pipe. State 2 indicates that the flow path is adjusted to flow to the point, and State 3 indicates that the flow path is adjusted to flow to the cooling point on the evaporator.

Referring to the drawings, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the battery and transmits it to the control unit 100 (S100). The controller 100 compares the detected battery temperature a with a preset battery optimum temperature range t to determine whether to cool or heat. Therefore, when the temperature (a) of the detected battery is less than the optimum temperature range (t) (S200), power is supplied to the solenoid 32a of the first fluid path control unit 30a so that the working fluid is connected to the heat exchange plate 10. Control to state 1 state to transfer heat between the heat source point (96) (S300). At this time, the working fluid absorbs heat from the engine 5 to evaporate and condenses the heat inside the heat exchange plate 10 to keep the battery 1 warm.

The controller 100 supplies power supplied to the solenoid 32a of the first fluid path control unit 30a when the temperature a of the detected battery 1 exceeds the optimum temperature range t (S210). By switching off, the working fluid is diverted so that the connecting heat pipe 45 flows. At this time, the control unit 100 receives the information detected by the vehicle speed sensor and the outside temperature sensor and information on whether the vehicle air conditioner switch is operated, and when the outside temperature is lower than the set value (b) (S220), the working fluid is apila. The second flow path control unit 30b is controlled to a control state 2 state so as to flow to the cooling point 92 on the (8) side.

When the outside air temperature is higher than the set value (S210) detects whether the vehicle speed sensor and the air conditioner switch is activated, the vehicle's driving speed exceeds the set value (c) (S222), or the vehicle's driving speed is less than the set value (c). Even when the vehicle air conditioner is not operated (S224), it is controlled to the state 2 state that the path to the apila 8 side is opened.

However, when the vehicle air conditioner is operated while the vehicle speed is less than the set value (S222) (S224), the path to the evaporator 6 is opened to control the vehicle to be in the state 3 state.

The optimum temperature range t of the battery, the set ambient temperature and the set speeds b and c of the vehicle speed are selected according to the type of battery electrolyte and the vehicle structure.

In an embodiment without a temperature sensor, the battery temperature is indirectly detected by indirectly measuring the temperature of the engine room through the water temperature sensor, and functions as described above.

Therefore, if the temperature of the battery is less than the optimum range in the case of a cold weather, the working fluid circulates between the engine side and the heat exchange plate, which is a heat source point, and transfers heat to the battery to keep the battery warm. If the temperature exceeds the optimum range, the working fluid circulates between the cooling point and the heat exchanger plate and moves the cooling heat to cool the battery. In particular, when the vehicle is driven in a high temperature region, when cooling by running wind is impossible due to slowing or stopping of the vehicle, the operating state of the air conditioner is detected and the working fluid is circulated to a cooling point adjacent to the evaporator to absorb endothermic heat. To cool the battery.

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described in detail, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation by a person of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the technical idea of this invention is carried out. This is possible.

According to the apparatus for controlling a vehicle battery temperature according to the present invention, since the heat pipe absorbs the heat of the battery and cools it at the cooling point, or the heat pipe absorbs the engine heat, it is possible to keep the battery warm. It is possible to keep it within the range. Therefore, since the electrolyte of the battery is maintained within a constant temperature range, the life is extended and the performance is improved.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to the present invention.

2 is a view for explaining an example of the heat exchange plate of the vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a view showing the structure of an apila of a vehicle which is a cooling point set according to the present invention.

4 is a view for explaining a flow path control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view for explaining a flow path control unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a vehicle battery temperature by a vehicle battery temperature control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of the symbols in the main part of the drawing

1: battery 5: engine

6: evaporator 8: apilar

10: heat exchange plate 20: heat pipe for heat exchange plate

30, 30 ': fluid path control unit 40, 50: cooling heat pipe

60: heat pipe 92, 94: cooling point

96: heat source point 100: control unit

Claims (5)

A heat exchanger plate installed around the battery to block heat transferred from the engine and through which a heat pipe for heat exchanger passes; A cooling heat pipe extending to a cooling point of at least one of a point at which cooling is possible by outside air or an adjacent point of the evaporator; Heat insulation heat pipe extended to a heat source point; The heat pipe for heat exchange plate extending from the heat exchange plate, the cooling heat pipe and the heat insulation heat pipe are respectively connected, and the flow path of the working fluid in the heat pipe for heat exchange plate is the cooling heat pipe or the heat insulation heat pipe. Fluid path control unit for converting to; And And a control unit connected to the fluid path control unit to control the flow path such that the temperature of the battery is maintained within an optimal range by using information detected from sensors of the vehicle. The method of claim 1, The cooling point includes a point that can be cooled by the outside air and an adjacent point of the evaporator, and the control unit receives any one of the plurality of cooling points by receiving information on the operation of the vehicle air conditioner switch. Battery temperature control. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Vehicle cooling temperature control device, characterized in that the cooling point by the outside air of the cooling point apiline. The method of claim 3, wherein The apilah vehicle battery temperature control device, characterized in that the through-holes are formed so that air can flow. In the vehicle battery temperature control method using a heat pipe, A battery temperature measuring step of detecting a temperature of the battery; Controlling a flow path such that the working fluid in the heat pipe for heat exchange plate moves to a heat source point when the temperature of the battery measured in the battery temperature measuring step is less than a predetermined optimum temperature range; An outside air temperature comparing step of comparing the outside air temperature when the temperature of the battery measured in the battery temperature measuring step exceeds a preset optimum temperature range; Controlling the flow path to move the working fluid to a cooling point that can be cooled by the outside air when the outside air temperature is less than a preset outside temperature in the outside air temperature comparison step; And When the outside temperature exceeds the preset outside temperature in the step of comparing the outside temperature, it is determined whether the vehicle speed exceeds the preset vehicle speed and whether the air conditioner switch is operated. When the vehicle air conditioner is operated while the vehicle air speed is less than the preset vehicle speed, the evaporator is operated. The flow path is controlled to move the working fluid to the cooling point located at the in-point point, and if the vehicle speed exceeds the preset vehicle speed or the vehicle air conditioner is not operated, the flow path is moved to move the working fluid to the cooling point where the outside air can be cooled. Vehicle battery temperature control method comprising the step of controlling.