The present application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201621124175.4 filed on Oct. 14, 2016, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to electric vehicles, and more particular, to a cooling and heating system applied in an electric vehicle.
Generally, electric vehicles are powered by battery packs. However, each battery pack should be operated in a safe temperature range. If a temperature of a battery pack is out of a corresponding safe temperature range, the battery pack cannot be operated properly, and an electric vehicle powered by the battery pack cannot be operated properly accordingly.
It is desirable to provide an invention, which can overcome the problems and limitations mentioned above.
The present invention is directed to a cooling and heating system that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
In an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling and heating system comprising: a battery pack; a temperature sensing module configured to sense a temperature of the battery pack; a semiconductor cooling chip; a power supply; a current adjustment module electrically coupled to the semiconductor cooling chip and the power supply, and configured to adjust a current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip; and a control module electrically coupled to the temperature sensing module and the current adjustment module; wherein the control module is configured to control the current adjustment module to make the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip in a first direction, on condition that the temperature of the battery pack is greater than a first reference temperature; and the control module is further configured to control the current adjustment module to make the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip in a second direction opposite to the first direction, on condition that the temperature of the battery pack is less than a second reference temperature, the second reference temperature is less than the first reference temperature; and wherein the semiconductor cooling chip is configured to cool the battery pack, on condition that the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip is in the first direction; and the semiconductor cooling chip is further configured to heat the battery pack, on condition that the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip is in the second direction.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanations of the invention as claimed.
Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached drawings. It may be understood that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in no way limit any changes in form and detail that may be made to the described embodiments by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the described embodiments.
In order to make the purposes, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention be clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are only intended to illustrate but not to limit the present invention.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will be presented. The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “comprise”, when utilized, means “include, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in a so-described combination, group, series and the like.
It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean “at least one.”
The temperature sensing module 20 is configured to sense a temperature of the battery pack 10, and output the temperature of the battery pack 10 sensed by the temperature sensing module 20 to the control module 60. The current adjustment module 50 is configured to adjust a current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30. The control module 60 is configured to compare the temperature of the battery pack 10 with a first reference temperature and a second reference temperature, the second reference temperature is less than the first reference temperature. The control module 60 is further configured to control the current adjustment module 50 to make the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 in a first direction, on condition that the temperature of the battery pack 10 is greater than the first reference temperature. The control module 60 is further configured to control the current adjustment module 50 to make the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 in a second direction opposite to the first direction, on condition that the temperature of the battery pack 10 is less than the second reference temperature. The semiconductor cooling chip 30 is configured to cool the battery pack 10, on condition that the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 is in the first direction. The semiconductor cooling chip 30 is further configured to heat the battery pack 10, on condition that the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 is in the second direction.
Please refer to
The control module 60 is configured to control the first electronic switch Q1 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 to be turned on, and control the second electronic switch Q2 and the third electronic switch Q3 to be turned off, on condition that the temperature of the battery pack 10 is greater than the first reference temperature. An electric power supplied from the power supply 40 flows into the ground through the fourth electronic switch Q4, the semiconductor cooling chip 30, and the first electronic switch Q1, and the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 is in the first direction.
The control module 60 is configured to control the first electronic switch Q1 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 to be turned off, and control the second electronic switch Q2 and the third electronic switch Q3 to be turned on, on condition that the temperature of the battery pack 10 is less than the second reference temperature. The electric power supplied from the power supply 40 flows into the ground through the third electronic switch Q3, the semiconductor cooling chip 30, and the second electronic switch Q2, and the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 is in the second direction.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) (as shown in
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is an npn-type BJT, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to a base, a collector, and an emitter of the npn-type BJT.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is a pnp-type BJT, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to a base, a collector, and an emitter of the pnp-type BJT.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 is the npn-type BJT, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 correspond to the base, the collector, and the emitter of the npn-type BJT. Each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is the pnp-type BJT, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to the base, the collector, and the emitter of the pnp-type BJT.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 is the pnp-type BJT, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 correspond to the base, the collector, and the emitter of the pnp-type BJT. Each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is the npn-type BJT, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to the base, the collector, and the emitter of the npn-type BJT.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) (as shown in
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is an N-channel MOSFET, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to a gate, a drain and a source of the N-channel MOSFET.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is a P-channel MOSFET, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to a gate, a drain and a source of the P-channel MOSFET.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 is the N-channel MOSFET, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 correspond to the gate, the drain and the source of the N-channel MOSFET. Each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is the P-channel MOSFET, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to the gate, the drain and the source of the P-channel MOSFET.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 is the P-channel MOSFET, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the first electronic switch Q1 and the second electronic switch Q2 correspond to the gate, the drain and the source of the P-channel MOSFET. Each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is the N-channel MOSFET, and the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal of each of the third electronic switch Q3 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 correspond to the gate, the drain and the source of the N-channel MOSFET.
In one embodiment, each of the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 is an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) (as shown in
Please refer to
The cooling and heating system 100 further comprises an air cooling module 80 positioned on a side of the semiconductor cooling chip 30 opposite to the battery pack 10. The air cooling module 80 is configured to cool the semiconductor cooling chip 30 and the battery pack 10. In one embodiment, the air cooling module 80 comprises at least one fan 82 and at least one heat sink 86.
In one embodiment, the control module 60 comprises a micro controller unit. The first reference temperature is an upper limit value of a safe temperature range of the battery pack 10, the second reference temperature is a lower limit value of the safe temperature range of the battery pack 10, and values of the first reference temperature and the second reference temperature can be adjusted according to the actual situation.
It may be understood that, the semiconductor cooling chip 30 may be a thermoelectric cooler or a heat pump. The semiconductor cooling chip 30 is operated by a Peltier effect or a thermoelectric effect.
The operation principle of the cooling and heating system 100 provided by one embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
In operate, each temperature sensor 26 of the temperature sensing module 20 is configured to sense temperature around a corresponding sensing point, and output the sensed temperature to the control module 60. The control module 60 compares each sensed temperature with the first reference temperature and the second reference temperature, and controls the current adjustment module 50 to adjust the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30, according to the compared result.
When one of the sensed temperatures is greater than the first reference temperature (that is, the temperature of the battery pack 10 is greater than the first reference temperature), the control module 60 controls the first electronic switch Q1 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 to be turned on, and control the second electronic switch Q2 and the third electronic switch Q3 to be turned off. The electric power supplied from the power supply 40 flows into the ground through the fourth electronic switch Q4, the semiconductor cooling chip 30, and the first electronic switch Q1, and the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 is in the first direction. The battery pack 10 is cooled by the semiconductor cooling chip 30 through the liquid cooling module 70.
When one of the sensed temperatures is less than the second reference temperature (that is, the temperature of the battery pack 10 is less than the second reference temperature), the control module 60 controls the first electronic switch Q1 and the fourth electronic switch Q4 to be turned off, and control the second electronic switch Q2 and the third electronic switch Q3 to be turned on. The electric power supplied from the power supply 40 flows into the ground through the third electronic switch Q3, the semiconductor cooling chip 30, and the second electronic switch Q2, and the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30 is in the second direction. The battery pack 10 is heated by the semiconductor cooling chip 30 through the liquid cooling module 70.
When each sensed temperature is less than or equal to the first reference temperature and is greater than or equal to the second reference temperature, the control module 60 controls the first electronic switch Q1, the second electronic switch Q2, the third electronic switch Q3, and the fourth electronic switch Q4 to be turned off. There is no current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30, and the semiconductor cooling chip 30 is not operated. The battery pack 10 is cooled by the liquid cooling module 70 and the air cooling module 80.
As detail above, the temperature sensing module 20 senses the temperature of the battery pack 10, and outputs the temperature of the battery pack 10 sensed by the temperature sensing module 20 to the control module 60. The control module 60 controls the current adjustment module 50 to adjust the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30, according to the temperature of the battery pack 10. The semiconductor cooling chip 30 is configured to cool or heat the battery pack 10, according to the current flowed into the semiconductor cooling chip 30. Therefore, the temperature of the battery pack 10 is maintained within the safe temperature range, the battery pack 10 can operate properly, and an electric vehicle powered by the battery pack 10 can operate properly accordingly.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modification and variations can be made in the multicolor illumination device and related method of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201621124175.4 | Oct 2016 | CN | national |