Thermal Management System for a Vehicle

Abstract
A thermal management system has a cooling medium circuit for cooling a brake of the vehicle, a heating medium circuit for cooling and/or heating one more of a battery, power electronics, a charging device, a component of an electric drive motor, or an interior of the vehicle. Also included is a heat transfer device for exchanging heat between the cooling medium circuit and the heating medium circuit, a coupling/decoupling unit, which couples a rotation of a rotor of the electric drive motor and a rotation of a drive wheel of the vehicle in a coupling position and decouples the rotor and the drive wheel in a decoupling position, and a control unit, which, when the vehicle is stationary, causes the coupling/decoupling unit to be in the decoupling position, such that the electric drive motor rotates the rotor and causes the brake to brake the rotation of the rotor.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a thermal management system for a vehicle, such as a motor vehicle, for instance an electric vehicle or battery electric vehicle (BEV), a vehicle having an internal combustion energy (ICE) with a high electrification factor, for example a hybrid electric vehicle, or a vehicle having a fuel cell (FCEV) or a hydrogen vehicle.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such vehicles have an electric drive motor, a battery and power electronics, for instance an inverter. A thermal management system, which has one or more cooling/heating (medium) circuits for cooling and/or heating and/or lubricating the electric drive motor, for cooling and/or heating the battery and the power electronics by using one or more cooling/heating media, ensures that the operating temperatures of the electric drive motor, of the battery and of the power electronics, or of the cooling/heating medium used therefor, or of the cooling/heating media used therefor, lie within predefined temperature windows in order to prevent damage and/or power losses of the corresponding cooled/heated components.


For the electric drive motor and the power electronics, for example, the cooling/heating medium temperature should not normally exceed 85° C., depending on the technology used. The temperature window for the operation of the battery, for instance of its battery cells, or of the temperature of the cooling/heating medium, may for example be between 20° C. and 40° C., since below 20° C. the cell internal resistance is high and especially at low temperatures the current consumption during the charging needs to be limited in order, especially for lithium ion batteries, to prevent so-called lithium plating (intercalation of metallic lithium).


In order to be able to satisfy these constraints reliably, the cooling and/or lubrication of at least one component, such as of a rotor, of the electric drive motor and the battery cooling are normally carried out by using two different cooling/heating (medium) circuits. The two cooling/heating (medium) circuits must be able to both absorb and release heat.


When using an oil-cooled electric drive motor, the heat is released via a heat transfer device from the first cooling/heating medium/oil in the first cooling/heating (medium) circuit for cooling and/or lubricating the at least one component of the electric motor to the second cooling/heating medium (water/glycol mixture) in the second cooling/heating (medium) circuit. The oil is used inside the drive unit for cooling and lubricating the electric drive motor, bearings and a transmission, such as a reduction gearbox, for coupling a rotor of the electric drive motor to a drive shaft for driving one or more drive wheels of the vehicle, and is circulated in the first (separate) cooling/heating (medium) circuit.


Usually, however, the power electronics and the electric drive motor are cooled directly by the second cooling/heating medium in the second cooling/heating (medium) circuit, so that the heat may also be absorbed directly here. The removal of heat from the second cooling/heating (medium) circuit normally takes place via a heat exchanger, such as a radiator, to the ambient air. Since the second cooling/heating (medium) circuit for cooling the battery should not exceed a temperature of 40° C., the removal of heat via the radiator is generally insufficient. In this case, the heat may be dissipated from the second cooling/heating medium via a further heat transfer device to a cooling medium of a cooling medium circuit, for example of an air-conditioning system of the vehicle.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of one embodiment of the present invention to provide an improved thermal management system for a vehicle.


This object is achieved by a thermal management system for a vehicle having the features described. Also described is a vehicle having such a thermal management system.


According to one aspect of the present invention, a thermal management system for a vehicle, such as a motor vehicle, for instance an electric, hybrid or hydrogen vehicle, has:

    • a cooling medium circuit with a cooling medium pump for delivering a cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit for cooling a brake, such as a multiple-disk brake, of the vehicle,
    • a heating medium circuit with at least one heating medium pump for delivering a heating medium in the heating medium circuit for cooling and/or heating a battery and/or power electronics and/or a charging device and/or a component, for instance a stator, of an electric drive motor of the vehicle and/or for heating an interior of the vehicle, such as by a heat exchanger,
    • a heat transfer device for exchanging heat between the cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit and the heating medium in the heating medium circuit,
    • a coupling/decoupling unit, which is adapted to couple a rotation of a rotor of the electric drive motor and a rotation of at least one drive wheel of the vehicle in a coupling position and to decouple the rotation of the rotor and the rotation of the at least one drive wheel in a decoupling position, and
    • a control unit, which is adapted, when the vehicle is stationary, to cause the coupling/decoupling unit to be in the decoupling position, to cause the electric drive motor to rotate the rotor and to cause the brake to brake the rotation of the rotor.


In this way, in one embodiment, even when the vehicle is stationary, the heat absorbed or dissipated by the cooling medium from the brake may be transferred through the heat transfer device to the heating medium and from the latter to the battery and/or into the interior of the vehicle. In this way, in one embodiment, a separate heating element, for instance a PTC heating element, which is typically installed in an air-conditioning system of the vehicle, for heating the interior, and/or a further separate heating element, for example likewise a PTC heating element, which is typically used to regulate the temperature of the battery, may be obviated.


According to one embodiment, the brake is arranged between the coupling/decoupling unit and the rotor.


In this way, in one embodiment, in a case in which the coupling/decoupling unit is in the decoupling position and the rotor is being rotated while the vehicle is stationary, the rotation of the rotor is braked by the brake and at least a part of the heat thereby generated is used to heat the interior and/or the battery.


According to one embodiment, the coupling/decoupling unit is arranged between a rotor shaft of the rotor and a transmission, such as a reduction gearbox, of the vehicle or between the transmission and a differential of the vehicle.


In this way, in one embodiment, in the first case, when the vehicle is stationary, the transmission or a rotation of a component of the transmission is decoupled from a rotation of the rotor shaft while the rotation of the rotor shaft is being braked by the brake, so that wear of the transmission is reduced.


According to one embodiment, the thermal management system further has at least one temperature recording unit, which is adapted to record an interior temperature of the interior of the vehicle and/or a battery temperature of the battery, the control unit being adapted, when the vehicle is stationary, to cause the coupling/decoupling unit to be in the decoupling position, to cause the electric drive motor to rotate the rotor and to cause the brake to brake the rotation of the rotor when the battery temperature is less than a predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or when the interior temperature is less than a predefined interior temperature threshold value.


In this way, in one embodiment, it is possible to achieve the effect that the braking of the rotation of the rotor when the vehicle is stationary in order to generate heat is carried out only when this is necessary, so that the wear of the brake is reduced.


According to one embodiment, the cooling medium circuit with the cooling medium pump is adapted to deliver the cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit for cooling at least one further brake, such as a further multiple-disk brake, of the vehicle and/or the rotor and/or the transmission, the at least one further brake being adapted to brake the rotation of the at least one drive wheel and being arranged between the coupling/decoupling unit and the at least one drive wheel.


In this way, in one embodiment, the braking power exerted by the vehicle by way of the vehicle brakes during a braking process of the vehicle, in order to brake the speed of the vehicle, is distributed between the brake and the at least one further brake, so that the wear and tear of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake during the braking process is reduced and the total braking power exerted by the vehicle brakes may be increased.


According to one embodiment, the thermal management system further has at least one manifold valve, by which an amount of heating medium delivered to the battery and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the power electronics and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the charging device and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the component of the electric drive motor of the vehicle and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the heat exchanger may be set, the control unit being adapted to drive the at least one manifold valve in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the battery when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value, and/or to drive the at least one manifold valve in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the heat exchanger when the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.


In this way, in one embodiment, the battery is heated by using the heat transferred to the heating medium if the battery temperature lies below the (lower) battery temperature threshold value necessary for reliable operation of the battery. In addition or alternatively, in one embodiment, the interior of the vehicle may in this way be heated by using the heat transferred to the heating medium if the interior temperature lies below a predefined (lower) interior temperature threshold value, which may for example be set by the air-conditioning system.


According to one embodiment, the control unit is adapted, during a braking process of the vehicle, to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in order to brake the vehicle by actuating the brake and/or the at least one further brake when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.


The control unit is in this case further adapted to drive the cooling medium pump during the braking process in such a way that it delivers the cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit in order to dissipate the heat of the brake and/or the at least one further brake and/or the rotor of the electric drive motor of the vehicle and/or the transmission of the vehicle in an improved way, and to drive the at least one heating medium pump in such a way that it delivers the heating medium during the braking process in order to ensure transfer of the heat from the cooling medium to the heating medium.


In one embodiment, the heat generated during the braking process in the brake and/or the at least one further brake may in this case be dissipated and used to heat the battery and/or the interior.


According to one embodiment, the electric drive motor is operated, in a manner which is set by the control unit, in an electric motor mode in which the vehicle is being driven or the electric drive motor is idling and in a generator mode in which energy is recovered by recuperation and the recuperated energy is fed back into the battery, and the control unit is adapted, during the braking process of the vehicle, to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in order to brake the vehicle by actuating the brake and/or the at least one further brake and to set the electric motor mode of the electric drive motor when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.


In this way, for example in the event of a cold start of the vehicle, when the battery temperature and/or the interior temperature is low, in one embodiment, substantially all of the energy to be expended by the vehicle for the braking process is used to heat the battery and/or the interior.


According to one embodiment, the at least one temperature recording unit is further adapted to record a heating medium temperature of the heating medium, and the control unit is adapted to ascertain a heating power required for heating the battery and/or the interior of the vehicle, to record a position of an accelerator pedal of the vehicle, to determine a torque requirement for the electric drive motor with the aid of the position of the accelerator pedal, to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in such a way that it carries out or they carry out a braking process with a predefined braking torque calculated on the basis of the required heating power, and to drive the electric drive motor in such a way that it generates a torque which is based on the torque requirement and the braking torque when the heating medium temperature is less than a predefined heating medium temperature threshold value.


The braking torque calculated on the basis of the required heating power may in this case be calculated as a function of a current rotational speed of a drive wheel of the vehicle, and the calculated braking torque may be divided by the gear ratio of the transmission and added to the torque requirement of the driver, which is determined with the aid of the position of the accelerator pedal, in order to obtain the torque that needs to be generated by the electric drive motor. If the vehicle has the brake and a plurality of the at least one further brakes, the calculated braking torque may be divided by the number of brake(s)/further brakes and the result may be produced in each of the brakes. If, for example, one of the at least one further brakes is provided on a drive wheel on the left side of the vehicle and another of the at least one further brakes is provided on a drive wheel on the right side of the vehicle, one third of the calculated braking torque is respectively produced in the (one) brake and the two further brakes.


Furthermore, the control unit may in this case be adapted to drive the electric drive motor in such a way that it generates a torque that is equal to the sum of the torque requirement and the braking torque when the heating medium temperature is less than a predefined heating medium temperature threshold value.


In this way, in one embodiment, even in the case in which the vehicle, or its speed, is not being braked, heat may be dissipated, by way of the active braking with the brake and/or the at least one further brake, from it or them and used to heat the battery and/or the interior.


According to one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to ascertain a current braking power of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake and to set a delivery amount of the cooling medium through the cooling medium pump as a function of the current braking power of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake.


In this way, in one embodiment, for example by increasing the delivery amount in the event of an increased braking power, the heat dissipation by the cooling medium may be improved and the brake and/or the at least one further brake may simultaneously be protected against overheating.


According to one embodiment, the thermal management system further has an input temperature sensor, which is adapted to record an input temperature of the cooling medium upstream of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake, and an output temperature sensor, which is adapted to record an output temperature of the cooling medium downstream of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake, the control unit being adapted, if a difference between the output temperature and the input temperature exceeds a predefined differential temperature threshold value, to set the delivery amount of the cooling medium through the cooling medium pump as a function of the current braking power and a difference between the difference between the output temperature and the input temperature and the predefined differential temperature threshold value.


In this way, in one embodiment, the delivery amount of the cooling medium may be increased if the difference between the output temperature and the input temperature exceeds the predefined differential temperature threshold value, in order to prevent overheating of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake.


According to one embodiment, the thermal management system further has a further heat exchanger, such as a radiator, for releasing heat to an environment of the vehicle, in which case an amount of heating medium delivered to the further heat exchanger is set by the at least one manifold valve, and the control unit is adapted, when the heating medium temperature is greater than the predefined heating medium temperature threshold value, to drive the at least one manifold valve in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the further heat exchanger and to set the generator mode of the electric drive motor during the braking process.


In this way, in one embodiment, for example in a case in which the battery and/or the interior do not need to be heated, the heat generated during the braking process in the brake and/or the at least one further brake may be released via the further heat exchanger to the environment of the vehicle.


Furthermore, by setting the generator mode of the electric drive motor during the braking process, it is possible that the brake and/or the at least one further brake does not need to be actuated, or needs to be actuated only to a small extent, for the braking process since the braking effect of the generator mode, or the braking torque which is induced by the generator mode, is sufficient therefor or is added to the braking effect of the brake and/or the at least one further brake, and a further increase of the heating medium temperature is therefore substantially avoided while at the same time energy is recovered by the generator mode.


According to one embodiment, the control unit is adapted to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in order to brake the vehicle additionally by actuating the brake and/or the at least one further brake when the heating medium temperature is greater than the predefined heating medium temperature threshold value and a braking torque required for the braking process is greater than a braking torque which is generated by the generator mode during the braking process.


In this way, in one embodiment, the braking process may be carried out with the necessary braking torque even if the braking torque required for the braking process cannot be generated, or cannot permanently be generated, by the generator mode, for example in the event of prolonged downhill driving of the vehicle, since the electric drive motor would thereby be overheated.


According to one embodiment, the thermal management system further has a cooling medium circuit manifold valve, by which a ratio between a cooling medium amount used for cooling the brake and/or the at least one further brake and a cooling medium amount used for cooling the rotor and/or the transmission may be set, and at least one temperature recording device for recording a temperature of the rotor and/or a temperature of the transmission, the control unit being adapted to set the delivery amount of cooling medium through the cooling medium pump additionally as a function of the temperature of the rotor and/or the temperature of the transmission, and to set the ratio between the cooling medium amount used for cooling the brake and/or the at least one further brake and the cooling medium amount used for cooling the rotor and/or the transmission on the basis of the temperature of the rotor and/or the temperature of the transmission and the difference between the difference between the output temperature and the input temperature and the predefined differential temperature threshold value.


In this way, in one embodiment, the cooling medium amounts/flow rates used for cooling the brake and/or the at least one further brake and for cooling the rotor and/or for cooling the transmission may be set individually according to requirements.


According to one embodiment, the thermal management system further has a cooling medium temperature sensor, which is adapted to record a temperature of the cooling medium, and at least one bypass line with at least one valve, such as a check valve or throttle valve, the at least one bypass line being connected in parallel with the heat transfer device and/or a cooling medium filter, and the control unit being adapted to drive the at least one valve in order to deliver at least a fraction of the cooling medium in parallel with the heat transfer device and/or in parallel with the cooling medium filter through the bypass line when the temperature of the cooling medium is less than a predefined cooling medium temperature threshold value.


In this way, in one embodiment, a hydraulic resistance for the cooling medium may be reduced when the temperature of the cooling medium is less than the predefined cooling medium temperature threshold value, and the delivery power of the cooling medium pump may therefore be increased with a constant energy expenditure for the delivery.


According to one embodiment, the thermal management system further has:

    • a cooling circuit with an evaporator for cooling the interior of the vehicle, a condenser, and a compressor for delivering a further heating medium in the cooling circuit, and
    • a further heat transfer device for exchanging heat between the heating medium in the heating medium circuit and the further heating medium in the cooling circuit.


In this case, the cooling circuit may be formed by the cooling circuit of the air-conditioning system of the vehicle, it being possible to transfer heat from the battery via the heating medium and the further heat transfer device to the further heating medium in order to cool the battery if the battery temperature is greater than a predefined upper battery threshold value.


According to another aspect of the invention, a vehicle, such as a motor vehicle, has a thermal management system as described above.


Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages and features may be found in the exemplary embodiments. In this regard, sometimes schematically:



FIG. 1 shows a vehicle with a thermal management system according to one embodiment of the invention,



FIG. 2 shows a thermal management system according to one embodiment of the invention,



FIG. 3 shows a powertrain of the vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention, and



FIG. 4 shows a cooling medium circuit of a thermal management system according to one embodiment of the invention.





DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.



FIG. 1 shows a vehicle with a thermal management system according to one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 shows details of the thermal management system shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows a powertrain of a vehicle according to one embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows a cooling medium circuit of a thermal management system according to one embodiment of the invention.


The vehicle 200, such as an electric, hybrid or hydrogen vehicle, has a thermal management system 100 with a control unit 110, a brake 208, such as a multiple-disk brake, optionally at least one further brake 201, such as a multiple-disk brake, for braking the vehicle 200, or a forward movement thereof, a battery 202, power electronics 203, such as an inverter, a charging device 204 for charging the battery 202, an accelerator pedal 205, an electric drive motor 210 with a rotor 211 and a component 212, such as a stator, a transmission 214, such as a reduction gearbox, for coupling the rotor 211 to one or more drive shafts 216 of the vehicle 200, which are coupled to drive wheels 206 of the vehicle 200, at least one temperature recording unit 700, an input temperature sensor 701, an output temperature sensor 702, and at least one temperature recording device 703.


The thermal management system 100 has a cooling medium circuit 300 with a cooling medium pump 301 for delivering a cooling medium, such as oil, in the cooling medium circuit 300 for cooling and/or lubricating the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 and/or the rotor 211 of the electric drive motor 210 of the vehicle 200 and/or the transmission 214 of the vehicle 200, a filter 303, which may be an oil filter, for filtering the cooling medium and a sump 304, such as an oil sump, for the cooling medium.


The thermal management system 100 furthermore has a heating medium circuit 400 with at least one heating medium pump 401, 402, 403 for delivering a heating medium, such as a water/glycol mixture, in the heating medium circuit 400 for cooling and/or heating the battery 202 and/or the power electronics 203 and/or the charging device 204 and/or the component 212 of the electric drive motor 210 of the vehicle 200 and/or an interior of the vehicle 200, such as by a heat exchanger 213, and a heat transfer device 600 for exchanging heat between the cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit 300 and the heating medium in the heating medium circuit 400.


In a powertrain, which is illustrated in FIG. 3, of the vehicle 200, a coupling/decoupling unit 207 is provided, which is adapted to couple a rotation of the rotor 211 of the electric drive motor 210 and a rotation of at least one drive wheel 206 of the vehicle 200, in the case represented in FIG. 3 two drive wheels 206 of the vehicle 200, in a coupling position and to decouple the rotation of the rotor 211 and the rotation of the at least one drive wheel 206 in a decoupling position.


The control unit 110 is adapted, when the vehicle 200 is stationary, for example in the event of a temporary stop of the vehicle 200 at a junction or a traffic light, to cause the coupling/decoupling unit 207 to be brought into the decoupling position or remain therein, in other words to cause the coupling/decoupling unit 207 to be in the decoupling position while the vehicle 200 is stationary, to cause the electric drive motor 210 to rotate the rotor 211 and to cause the brake 208, which is adapted at least to brake a rotation of the rotor 211, to brake the rotation of the rotor 211.


As illustrated in FIG. 3, the brake 208 is in this case arranged between the coupling/decoupling unit 207 and the rotor 211, in order to be able to rotate the rotor 211 in the decoupling position without the at least one drive wheel 206 simultaneously being co-rotated.


In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the coupling/decoupling unit 207 may be arranged between the transmission 214 and a differential 209 of the vehicle 200, or, in an embodiment which is not shown, the coupling/decoupling unit 207 may be arranged between a rotor shaft 215 of the rotor 211 and the transmission 214 of the vehicle 200.


The at least one temperature recording unit 700 is adapted to record an interior temperature of the interior of the vehicle 200 and/or a battery temperature of the battery 202, the control unit 110 being adapted, when the vehicle 200 is stationary, to cause the coupling/decoupling unit 207 to be in the decoupling position, to cause the electric drive motor 210 to rotate the rotor 211 and to cause the brake 208 to brake the rotation of the rotor 211 when the battery temperature is less than a predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or when the interior temperature is less than a predefined interior temperature threshold value.


The cooling medium circuit 300 with the cooling medium pump 301 is further adapted to deliver the cooling medium 305 in the cooling medium circuit 300 for cooling the at least one further brake 201 and/or the rotor 211 and/or the transmission 214, the at least one further brake 201 being adapted to brake the rotation of the at least one drive wheel 206 and being arranged between the coupling/decoupling unit 207 and the at least one drive wheel 206, for example between the differential 209 and a (respective) drive shaft 216 of the at least one drive wheel 206.


The thermal management system 100 further has at least one manifold valve 120, 121, 122, in which case an amount of heating medium delivered to the battery 202 may be set by a manifold valve 121, an amount of heating medium delivered to the power electronics 203 and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the charging device 204 and an amount of heating medium delivered to the component 212 of the electric drive motor 210 of the vehicle 200 is set by a manifold valve 120, and an amount of heating medium delivered to the heat exchanger 213 is set by a manifold valve 122.


The control unit 110 is adapted to drive the manifold valve 121 in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the battery 202 when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value, and/or to drive the manifold valve 122 in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the heat exchanger 213 when the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.


The control unit 110 is in this case adapted, during a braking process of the vehicle 200, to drive the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 in order to brake the vehicle 200 by actuating the brake 201 and/or the at least one further brake 201 when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.


The electric drive motor 210 may be operated, in a manner which is set by the control unit 110, in an electric motor mode in which the vehicle 200 is being driven or the electric drive motor 210 is idling and in a generator mode in which energy is recovered by recuperation and the recuperated energy is fed back into the battery 202. The control unit 110 is in this case adapted, during the braking process of the vehicle 200, to drive the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 in order to brake the vehicle 200 by actuating the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 and to set the electric motor mode of the electric drive motor 210 when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.


The at least one temperature recording unit 700 is further adapted to record a heating medium temperature of the heating medium, the control unit 110 being adapted to ascertain a heating power required for heating the battery 202 and/or the interior of the vehicle 200, to record a position of the accelerator pedal 205 of the vehicle 200, to determine a torque requirement for the electric drive motor 210 with the aid of the position of the accelerator pedal 205, to drive the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 in such a way that it carries out or they carry out a braking process with a predefined braking torque calculated on the basis of the required heating power, and to drive the electric drive motor 210 in such a way that it generates a torque which is based on the torque requirement and the braking torque when the heating medium temperature is less than a predefined heating medium temperature threshold value.


The braking torque calculated on the basis of the required heating power may in this case be calculated as a function of a (respective) current rotational speed of a respective drive wheel 206 of the vehicle 200, and the calculated braking torque may be divided by the gear ratio of the transmission 214 and added to the torque requirement of the driver, which is determined with the aid of the position of the accelerator pedal 205, in order to obtain the torque that needs to be generated by the electric drive motor 210. If the vehicle 200 has the brake 208 and a plurality of the at least one further brakes 201, the calculated braking torque may be divided by the sum of the number of brake(s) 208 and the number of further brakes 201 and the result may be produced in each of the brakes 201, 208. If, for example, one of the at least one further brakes 201 is provided on a drive wheel 206 on the left side of the vehicle 200 and another of the at least one further brakes 201 is provided on a drive wheel 206 on the right side of the vehicle 200, one third of the calculated braking torque is respectively provided in the (one) brake 208 and the two further brakes 201.


The control unit 110 is adapted to ascertain a current (total) braking power of the brake 208 and/or of the at least one further brake 201 and to set a delivery amount of the cooling medium 305 through the cooling medium pump 301 as a function of the current (total) braking power of the brake 208 and/or of the at least one further brake 201.


The input temperature sensor 701 is adapted to record an input temperature of the cooling medium upstream of the brake 208 and/or of the further brake 201, and the output temperature sensor 702 is adapted to record an output temperature of the cooling medium downstream of the brake 208 and/or of the at least one further brake 201. The control unit 110 is adapted, if a difference between the output temperature and the input temperature exceeds a predefined differential temperature threshold value, to set the delivery amount of the cooling medium through the cooling medium pump 301 as a function of the current braking power and a difference between the difference between the output temperature and the input temperature and the predefined differential temperature threshold value.


The thermal management system 100 further has a further heat exchanger 405, such as a radiator, for releasing heat to an environment of the vehicle 200, in which case an amount of heating medium delivered to the further heat exchanger 405 is set by the manifold valve 123. The control unit 110 is in this case adapted, when the heating medium temperature is greater than the predefined heating medium temperature threshold value, to drive the manifold valve 123 in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the further heat exchanger 405 and to set the generator mode of the electric drive motor 210 during the braking process.


The control unit 110 is adapted to drive the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 in order to brake the vehicle 200 additionally by actuating the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 when the heating medium temperature is greater than the predefined heating medium temperature threshold value and a braking torque required for the braking process is greater than a braking torque which may be generated by the generator mode during the braking process or is a braking torque that would lead to overheating of the electric drive motor 210 during permanent generation by the generator mode.


The thermal management system 100, more specifically the cooling medium circuit 300, further has a cooling medium temperature sensor 701, 702, which is adapted to record a temperature of the cooling medium 305, and at least one bypass line 308 with at least one valve 307, such as a check valve or throttle valve, the at least one bypass line 308 being connected in parallel with the heat transfer device 600 (not shown) and/or a cooling medium filter 303 (illustrated in FIG. 4), such as an oil filter, and the control unit 110 being adapted to drive the at least one valve 307 in order to deliver at least a fraction of the cooling medium 305 in parallel with the heat transfer device 600 and/or in parallel with the cooling medium filter 303 through the bypass line 308 when the temperature of the cooling medium 305 is less than a predefined cooling medium temperature threshold value.


The thermal management system 100 further has a cooling medium circuit manifold valve 302, by which a ratio between a cooling medium amount used for cooling the brake 208 and/or the further brake 201 and a cooling medium amount used for cooling the rotor 211 and/or the transmission 214 is set, the at least one temperature recording device 703 being adapted to record a temperature of the rotor 211 and/or a temperature of the transmission 214.


The control unit 110 is in this case adapted to set the delivery amount of cooling medium 305 through the cooling medium pump 301 additionally as a function of the temperature of the rotor 211 and/or the temperature of the transmission 214, and to set the ratio between the cooling medium amount used for cooling the brake 208 and/or the at least one further brake 201 and the cooling medium amount used for cooling the rotor 211 and/or the transmission 214 on the basis of the temperature of the rotor 211 and/or the temperature of the transmission 214 and the difference between the difference between the output temperature and the input temperature and the predefined differential temperature threshold value.


The thermal management system 100 further has a cooling circuit 800, for instance of an air-conditioning system of the vehicle 200, with an evaporator 801 for cooling the interior of the vehicle 200, condensers 802A, 802B, expansion valves 805, 806 and 807, and a compressor 803 for delivering a further heating medium in the cooling circuit 800, and a further heat transfer device 900 for exchanging heat between the heating medium in the heating medium circuit 400 and the further heating medium in the cooling circuit 800.


In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the heating medium of the heating medium circuit 400 may be delivered by the heating medium pump 403 likewise to the condenser 802A.


The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.


LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS






    • 100 thermal management system


    • 110 control unit


    • 120, 121, 122 manifold valve


    • 200 vehicle


    • 201 further brake


    • 202 battery


    • 203 power electronics


    • 204 charging device


    • 205 accelerator pedal


    • 206 drive wheel


    • 207 coupling/decoupling unit


    • 208 brake


    • 209 differential


    • 210 electric drive motor


    • 211 rotor of the electric drive motor


    • 212 component of the electric drive motor


    • 213 heat exchanger


    • 214 transmission


    • 215 rotor shaft


    • 216 drive shaft


    • 300 cooling medium circuit


    • 301 cooling medium pump


    • 302 cooling medium circuit manifold valve


    • 303 cooling medium filter


    • 304 cooling medium pan


    • 305 cooling medium


    • 306 intake line


    • 307 valve


    • 308 bypass line


    • 400 heating medium circuit


    • 401, 402, 403 heating medium pump


    • 405 further heat exchanger


    • 600 heat transfer device


    • 700 temperature recording unit


    • 701 input temperature sensor


    • 702 output temperature sensor


    • 703 temperature recording device


    • 800 cooling circuit


    • 801 evaporator


    • 802A, 802B condenser


    • 803 compressor


    • 804, 805, 806, 807 expansion valve


    • 900 further heat transfer device




Claims
  • 1. A thermal management system for a vehicle, comprising: a cooling medium circuit, further comprising: a cooling medium pump for delivering a cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit for cooling a brake of the vehicle;a heating medium circuit further comprising: at least one heating medium pump for delivering a heating medium in the heating medium circuit for cooling and/or heating a battery and/or power electronics and/or a charging device and/or a component, of an electric drive motor of the vehicle and/or for heating an interior of the vehicle, in particular by a heat exchanger;a heat transfer device for exchanging heat between the cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit and the heating medium in the heating medium circuit;a coupling/decoupling unit, which is adapted to couple a rotation of a rotor of the electric drive motor and a rotation of at least one drive wheel of the vehicle in a coupling position and to decouple the rotation of the rotor and the rotation of the at least one drive wheel in a decoupling position; anda control unit which, when the vehicle is stationary, causes the coupling/decoupling unit to be in the decoupling position, and causes the electric drive motor to rotate the rotor and to cause the brake to brake the rotation of the rotor.
  • 2. The thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the brake is arranged between the coupling/decoupling unit and the rotor.
  • 3. The thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the coupling/decoupling unit is arranged between a rotor shaft of the rotor and a transmission, of the vehicle or between the transmission and a differential of the vehicle.
  • 4. The thermal management system of claim 1, further comprising: at least one temperature recording unit, which is adapted to record an interior temperature of the interior of the vehicle and/or a battery temperature of the battery;wherein the control unit is adapted, when the vehicle is stationary, to cause the coupling/decoupling unit to be in the decoupling position, to cause the electric drive motor to rotate the rotor and to cause the brake to brake the rotation of the rotor when the battery temperature is less than a predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or when the interior temperature is less than a predefined interior temperature threshold value.
  • 5. The thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the cooling medium circuit with the cooling medium pump is adapted to deliver the cooling medium in the cooling medium circuit for cooling at least one further brake, of the vehicle and/or the rotor and/or the transmission, the at least one further brake being adapted to brake the rotation of the at least one drive wheel and being arranged between the coupling/decoupling unit and the at least one drive wheel.
  • 6. The thermal management system of claim 5, further comprising: at least one manifold valve, by which an amount of heating medium delivered to the battery and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the power electronics and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the charging device and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the component of the electric drive motor of the vehicle and/or an amount of heating medium delivered to the heat exchanger is set; andwherein the control unit is adapted to drive the at least one manifold valve in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the battery when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value, and/or to drive the at least one manifold valve in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the heat exchanger when the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.
  • 7. The thermal management system of claim 6, wherein the control unit is adapted, during a braking process of the vehicle, to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in order to brake the vehicle by actuating the brake and/or the at least one further brake when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.
  • 8. The thermal management system of claim 7, wherein the electric drive motor is operated, in a manner which is set by the control unit, in an electric motor mode and in a generator mode, and the control unit is adapted, during the braking process of the vehicle, to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in order to brake the vehicle by actuating the brake and/or the at least one further brake and to set the electric motor mode of the electric drive motor when the battery temperature is less than the predefined battery temperature threshold value and/or the interior temperature is less than the predefined interior temperature threshold value.
  • 9. The thermal management system of claim 8, wherein the at least one temperature recording unit is further adapted to record a heating medium temperature of the heating medium, and the control unit is adapted to ascertain a heating power required for heating the battery and/or the interior of the vehicle, to record a position of an accelerator pedal of the vehicle, to determine a torque requirement for the electric drive motor with the aid of the position of the accelerator pedal, to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in such a way that it carries out or they carry out a braking process with a predefined braking torque calculated on the basis of the required heating power, and to drive the electric drive motor in such a way that it generates a torque which is based on the torque requirement and the braking torque when the temperature of the heating medium is less than a predefined heating medium temperature threshold value.
  • 10. The thermal management system of claim 9, wherein the control unit is adapted to ascertain a current braking power of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake and to set a delivery amount of the cooling medium through the cooling medium pump as a function of the current braking power of the brake and/or of the at least one further brake.
  • 11. The thermal management system of claim 10, further comprising: a further heat exchanger for releasing heat to an environment of the vehicle;wherein an amount of heating medium delivered to the further heat exchanger is set by the at least one manifold valve, and the control unit is adapted, when the heating medium temperature is greater than the predefined heating medium temperature threshold value, to drive the at least one manifold valve in such a way that the heating medium is delivered to the further heat exchanger and to set the generator mode of the electric drive motor during the braking process.
  • 12. The thermal management system of claim 11, wherein the control unit is adapted to drive the brake and/or the at least one further brake in order to brake the vehicle additionally by actuating the brake and/or the at least one further brake when the temperature of the heating medium is greater than the predefined heating medium temperature threshold value and a braking torque required for the braking process is greater than a braking torque which can be generated by the generator mode during the braking process.
  • 13. The thermal management system of claim 1, further comprising: a cooling medium temperature sensor, which is adapted to record a temperature of the cooling medium, and at least one bypass line with at least one valve, the at least one bypass line being connected in parallel with the heat transfer device and/or a cooling medium filter, andwherein the control unit being adapted to drive the at least one valve in order to deliver at least a fraction of the cooling medium in parallel with the heat transfer device and/or in parallel with the cooling medium filter through the bypass line when the temperature of the cooling medium is less than a predefined cooling medium temperature threshold value.
  • 14. The thermal management system of one of the preceding claims, further having: a cooling circuit, further comprising: an evaporator for cooling the interior of the vehicle;a condenser;a compressor for delivering a further heating medium in the cooling circuit; anda further heat transfer device for exchanging heat between the heating medium in the heating medium circuit and the further heating medium in the cooling circuit.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
10 2022 202 122.3 Mar 2022 DE national
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to PCT Application PCT/EP2023/055184, filed Mar. 1, 2023, which claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2022 202 122.3, filed Mar. 2, 2022. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent PCT/EP2023/055184 Mar 2023 WO
Child 18815045 US