JP2012247120A - Combined heat exchanger system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a combined heat exchanger which secures a necessary space for each heat exchanger while improving the mountability of the heat exchanger on a vehicle and improves heat conversion efficiency.SOLUTION: A plurality of heat exchangers, i.e., the first heat exchanger 1, the second heat exchanger 2, the third heat exchanger 3, and the fourth heat exchanger 4 are arranged. The first heat exchanger 1 is coupled with a compressor 8 in a position away from the second heat exchanger 2, the third heat exchanger 3 and the fourth heat exchanger 4, and a first medium outputted from the compressor is cooled by a second medium from the second heat exchanger 2. The second heat exchanger 2 cools the second medium outputted from the first heat exchanger 1. The third heat exchanger 3 is connected with the first heat exchanger 1 and cools the second medium outputted from the first heat exchanger by air. The fourth heat exchanger 4 cools a third medium, circulating the fourth heat exchanger by air.

Description

  The present invention relates to a composite heat exchanger having a plurality of heat exchangers connected to, for example, an engine and an air conditioning system.

As such a conventional composite heat exchanger, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.
This conventional composite heat exchanger includes a first air-cooling heat exchanger that cools cooling water for heating elements other than the engine, a second air-cooling heat exchanger that cools refrigerant for vehicle air conditioning, and engine cooling water. A third air-cooled heat exchanger for cooling. The first air-cooling heat exchanger and the third air-cooling heat exchanger have a core in which tubes and radiating fins are alternately stacked, and left and right cooling water tanks communicating with each other through the tubes. The third air-cooled heat exchanger is set so that the width of the core is narrower than the width of the core of the first air-cooled heat exchanger, and can be inserted between the cooling water tanks of the first air-cooled heat exchanger. .

As another conventional composite heat exchanger, the one described in Patent Document 2 is known.
This conventional composite heat exchanger includes a radiator that cools engine cooling water, a first air-cooled heat exchanger that cools cooling water for heating elements other than the engine, and a second that cools refrigerant for vehicle compartment air conditioning. An air-cooled heat exchanger. The first air-cooling heat exchanger includes a cooling water inflow side tank, a cooling water outflow side tank, a tube that communicates these, a heat radiation fin that is alternately stacked with the tube, and water that cools the refrigerant for vehicle compartment air conditioning. And a cold heat exchanger. This water-cooled heat exchanger is arranged inside the outflow side tank, and after the refrigerant flows in from the upper side of the water-cooled heat exchanger and flows out from the lower side, it flows down to the second air-cooled heat exchanger. The oil is prevented from staying in the lower part, the heat exchange efficiency is improved, the lack of lubrication of the compressor is eliminated, and the performance and reliability of the cooling system are prevented from being lowered.

JP 2010-121604 A JP 2010-127508 A

However, in any of the above-described conventional composite heat exchangers, all the other heat exchangers are displaced by shifting in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the largest main radiator (main radiator) that cools the cooling water of the engine. They are arranged.
For this reason, when heat exchangers are arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction in order to secure an arrangement space, for example, in the case where many heat exchangers have to be mounted like a hybrid electric vehicle, the vehicle longitudinal direction hierarchy is arranged. Will increase and the heat exchange rate of the heat exchanger downstream of the cooling air will deteriorate.
On the other hand, when trying to reduce the level in the vehicle front-rear direction, a plurality of heat exchangers are packed and arranged in the same vehicle width direction plane, and it becomes difficult to secure the necessary space for heat exchange. .
Thus, as the number of heat exchangers increases, it becomes difficult to secure the necessary space due to the increase in size, and the number of layers in the vehicle front-rear direction increases, leading to deterioration in vehicle mounting and deterioration in heat exchange rate. .

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to secure the necessary space for each heat exchanger and improve the heat exchange rate while improving the vehicle mountability of the heat exchanger. An object of the present invention is to provide a composite heat exchanger designed to achieve the above.

For this purpose, the composite heat exchanger according to the invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises:
A plurality of first heat exchangers, second heat exchangers and third heat exchangers are arranged,
The first heat exchanger is connected to the compressor at a position separated and separated from the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger, and the first medium output from the compressor is sent from the second heat exchanger. Liquid cooled by the second medium,
A second heat exchanger air-cools the second medium output from the first heat exchanger;
A third heat exchanger is connected to the first heat exchanger and air-cools the first medium output from the first heat exchanger;
It is characterized by that.

A composite heat exchanger according to the present invention as set forth in claim 2 comprises:
The composite heat exchanger according to claim 1,
The first medium is a refrigerant and the second medium is cooling water;
It is characterized by that.

A composite heat exchanger according to the present invention as set forth in claim 3 comprises:
The composite heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 2,
The first heat exchanger is a condenser;
The third heat exchanger is a supercooler;
It is characterized by that.

A composite heat exchanger according to the present invention as set forth in claim 4 comprises:
The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
On the upstream side or downstream side of the first medium flow of the third heat exchanger, the reservoir for the first medium is connected and arranged.
It is characterized by that.

A composite heat exchanger according to the present invention as set forth in claim 5 comprises:
The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The third heat exchanger is a radiator.
It is characterized by that.

A composite heat exchanger according to the present invention as set forth in claim 6 comprises:
The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
At least one of the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger is arranged on the ventilation upstream side of the fourth heat exchanger that air-cools the third medium.
It is characterized by that.

A composite heat exchanger according to the present invention as set forth in claim 7 comprises:
The composite heat exchanger according to claim 6,
The fourth heat exchanger is the main radiator,
The third medium is cooling water;
It is characterized by that.

A composite heat exchanger according to the present invention as set forth in claim 8 comprises:
The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The combined heat exchanger is mounted on an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle,
It is characterized by that.

  In the composite heat exchanger according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first heat exchanger for cooling the same first medium is separated and separated from the third heat exchanger, and the former is connected to the second heat exchanger. Since the liquid cooling is performed with the second medium, the first heat exchanger can be reduced in size and the heat exchange rate can be increased, and the space for arranging the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger can be increased by the space. become. Therefore, it is possible to secure a necessary space for each heat exchanger and improve the heat exchange rate while improving the vehicle mountability of the heat exchanger.

  In the composite heat exchanger of the present invention according to claim 2, since the first medium is a refrigerant and the second medium is a cooling water, for example, an air conditioning system such as a passenger compartment, an electric motor or an inverter having an inverter Different types of cooling, such as component cooling, can be optimally performed.

  In the composite heat exchanger according to the third aspect of the present invention, the first heat exchanger is a condenser and the third heat exchanger is a subcooler. Is optimal.

  In the composite heat exchanger according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the storage portion for the first medium can be provided on either the upstream side or the downstream side of the third heat exchanger. The amount of storage of one medium can be adjusted optimally.

  In the composite heat exchanger according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the first refrigerant can be optimally cooled by using the third heat exchanger as a radiator.

  In the composite heat exchanger according to claim 6 of the present invention, at least one of the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger is ventilated by the fourth heat exchanger that air-cools the third medium. Since they are arranged on the upstream side, they can be efficiently cooled with the same air flow while gathering them in the front-rear direction.

  In the composite heat exchanger of the present invention according to claim 7, since the fourth heat exchanger is a main radiator and the third medium flowing through this is a cooling water, an engine that generates a large amount of heat is provided. It can be cooled sufficiently.

  In the composite heat exchanger according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the composite heat exchanger is mounted on an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, the electric motor, the engine and the like can be efficiently cooled together with the indoor air conditioning system and the like. Is optimal.

It is a general view which shows the composite heat exchanger of Example 1 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on examples shown in the drawings. In this embodiment, a composite heat exchanger mounted on an electric vehicle will be described as an example.

First, the whole structure of the composite heat exchanger of Example 1 is demonstrated.
The composite heat exchanger according to the first embodiment includes a condenser (corresponding to the first heat exchanger of the present invention) 1, a sub-radiator (corresponding to the second heat exchanger of the present invention) 2, and a subcool condenser (present invention). 3), a main radiator (corresponding to the fourth heat exchanger of the present invention, corresponding to the main radiator) 4, a liquid tank (corresponding to the storage part of the present invention) 5, An expander 6, an evaporator 7, and a compressor 8 are provided. This composite heat exchanger is mounted on a hybrid electric vehicle that can be driven by an engine (internal combustion engine) and an electric motor 9, and the engine (not shown) is used as the main radiator 4, the electric motor 9 and the like are used as the sub-radiator 2, and the passenger compartment. The air conditioning system is cooled by the condenser 1, the subcool condenser 3, and the like.

  The condenser 1 is integrally connected to the compressor 8, and cools the sub-radiator 2 via the outlet of the refrigerant of the compressor 8 (corresponding to the first medium of the present invention), the electric motor 9, the inverter 10, and the like. The outlet side of water (corresponding to the second medium of the present invention) and the inlet side of the liquid tank 5 are respectively connected. In the condenser 1, the refrigerant and the cooling water are independent and adjacent to each other so that heat exchange is possible, so that the refrigerant discharged from the outlet of the compressor 8 is cooled to the liquid phase by the cooling water. The liquid is cooled and sent to the inlet of the liquid tank 5. In the condenser 1, the cooling water is air-cooled by a tube and a radiation fin (not shown).

  The compressor 8 is a variable discharge capacity compressor in the embodiment, and the discharge capacity changes (several% to 100%) in response to a capacity control signal output from a controller (not shown) to the capacity control solenoid valve. %). The compressor 8 is belt-driven by an electric motor (not shown) via an electromagnetic clutch or a direct pulley (no electromagnetic clutch) (not shown).

  The sub-radiator 2 has a core in which tubes and radiating fins (not shown) are alternately stacked, and cools the refrigerant to further cool the cooling water output from the condenser 1. The electric motor 9 and the inverter 10 are connected to a cooling unit for high-power components that generate heat, such as an electric motor 9, and cool them.

  The subcool capacitor 3 has a core in which tubes and radiation fins (not shown) are alternately stacked. The inlet side is connected to the outlet side of the liquid tank 5 and the outlet side is connected to the expander 6. In the subcool condenser 3, the medium sent from the liquid tank 5 is air-cooled by an air flow and sent to the expander 6 as a supercooled (subcool) liquid.

  The liquid tank 5 is disposed between the condenser 1 and the subcool condenser 3 and connects between them. The liquid tank 5 removes moisture and dust contained in the high-pressure and intermediate-temperature liquefied refrigerant liquefied by the condenser 1 with a filter unit, temporarily stores excess refrigerant, and the refrigerant is sufficiently stored during rapid cooling. To be able to supply.

  The expander 6 makes the supercooled liquid sent out from the subcool condenser 3 low in pressure and throttles the refrigerant to be easily vaporized as a low-temperature and low-pressure mist refrigerant. This refrigerant is sent to the evaporator 7.

  The evaporator 7 is disposed in a blower duct of an air conditioner unit (not shown) disposed in the passenger compartment. The evaporator 7 receives low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant that has been decompressed and expanded after passing through the expander 6 and receives the airflow of the blower. The airflow that flows toward the passenger compartment through the air duct is cooled. The refrigerant discharged from the evaporator 7 is sent to the inlet of the compressor 8.

  The main radiator 4 has a core in which tubes and radiating fins (not shown) are alternately stacked, and is used for cooling the engine. The main radiator 4 is a cooling water different from the sub radiator 3 (corresponding to the third medium of the present invention). ) Is refluxed to the engine cooling section and air-cooled. The main radiator 4 is provided with an electric fan (not shown) and generates an air flow for cooling the engine during parking. As shown in FIG. 1, the size is considerably larger than the other heat exchangers (condenser 1, sub-radiator 2, sub-cool condenser 3).

  The electric motor 9 drives the vehicle alone or drives the vehicle together with the engine, and generates a large amount of heat during operation. The inverter 10 controls electric power supplied to the electric motor 9 based on measurement data such as accelerator operation and vehicle speed, and this also generates a large amount of heat. In addition, since these structures are well-known, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the main radiator, the engine cooling unit, and the piping between them constitute an engine cooling circuit that cools the engine. The subcool condenser 3, the expander 6, the evaporator 7, the compressor 8, the condenser 1, the liquid tank 5, and the piping between them constitute a cooling circuit 12 for passenger compartment air conditioning. Further, the sub-radiator 2, a part of the condenser 1, and the piping between them constitute a high-power system cooling circuit 11 that cools high-power components such as the electric motor 9 and the inverter 10.

The components configured as described above are arranged as follows.
That is, the sub radiator 2 and the sub cool capacitor 3 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction on the vehicle front side of the main radiator 4. The condenser 1 for cooling the refrigerant of the air conditioner is connected to the compressor 8 and is disposed at a position (rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction) separated from and separated from the sub radiator 2, the sub cool condenser 3, and the main radiator 4. Is done. That is, the condenser and the subcool condenser that are conventionally provided integrally are separated and separated in this embodiment, and the condenser is changed from the conventional air cooling to the liquid cooling.

Next, the operation of the composite heat exchanger according to the first embodiment will be described.
In the engine cooling circuit, the cooling water is cooled by the air flow flowing through the main radiator 4, and the cooled cooling water is sent to the cooling unit of the engine and flows through the engine to cool the engine. The cooling water warmed by the engine is returned to the main radiator 4, cooled again, and sent to the engine.

  In the high-power system cooling circuit 11, cooling water (cooling water different from engine cooling water) is cooled by the air flow passing through the condenser 1 and the sub-radiator 2, and the cooled cooling water is supplied to the electric motor 9. These are cooled so as to be within the optimum temperature range by flowing through the cooling part of the high-power components such as the inverter 10. Further, the cooling water that has cooled the high-power components further flows into the condenser 1, and cools the refrigerant in the passenger compartment air conditioning cooling circuit 12 that flows adjacently while being cooled by the air flow.

  On the other hand, in the passenger compartment air-conditioning cooling circuit 12, the refrigerant that has been compressed by the compressor 8 into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas is discharged from the compressor 8 and enters the condenser 1. It is liquefied by being cooled with cooling water. This liquefied refrigerant is separated into gas and liquid in the liquid tank 5, an extra part is stored, and the remaining medium is sent to the subcool condenser 3. In the subcool condenser 3, the liquid refrigerant (including a part of the gas refrigerant) sent from the liquid tank 5 is further subcooled with an air flow to obtain almost complete liquid refrigerant. This liquid medium is sent to the expander 6 where it is expanded and throttled to be easily vaporized as a low-temperature and low-pressure mist refrigerant. This mist-like refrigerant is sent to the evaporator 7 where it is vaporized and takes heat away from the air flow flowing into the passenger compartment through the periphery of the pipe, thereby producing cold air for the passenger compartment air conditioning. The refrigerant heated by the heat exchange in the evaporator 7 is sent to the compressor 1 where it is compressed into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas so that it can be easily liquefied by the condenser 1. Thereafter, the above cycle is repeated.

Next, the effect of the composite heat exchanger of the first embodiment will be described.
In the composite heat exchanger of the first embodiment, the condenser 1 and the subcool condenser 3 which are conventionally integrated and separated from each other are separated and separated, and the condenser 1 is separated from the subcool condenser 3 and the subcool condenser 3. The condenser 1 is connected to the compressor 1 at a position away from the radiator 2 and the main radiator 4. In the condenser 1, the refrigerant of the passenger compartment air conditioning cooling circuit 12 that flows here is used as the refrigerant of the high-electricity cooling circuit 11 that flows through the sub radiator 2. Liquid cooling was performed with cooling water. Therefore, the subcool condenser 3 and the sub radiator 2 can further secure an installation space as much as the condenser 1 is unnecessary, and can secure a sufficient area for air cooling.

Further, even if the main radiator 4 is disposed behind them, the overall size is small, and since there are only two levels in the vehicle front-rear direction, the air flow smoothly flows and sufficient cooling capacity can be secured. Further, the main radiator 4 has a smaller area than the conventional condenser with condenser and sub-radiator because the area of the subcool condenser 3 and the sub-radiator 2 arranged in front is smaller than the condenser 1 is unnecessary. Increases the air flow directly hitting and improves heat exchange efficiency.
On the other hand, the separated condensation unit 1 can be improved from the conventional air cooling to the liquid cooling, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency and reducing the size thereof.

  Also, since all the parts have been gathered close to the main radiator 4 in the past, the piping work between them has been difficult. In this embodiment, the main radiator and the surroundings are compactly arranged as described above. In addition to improving the properties, the agglomeration portion 1 is disposed at a separated position, so that the piping work between the components becomes easy.

  In addition, by arranging the subcool condenser 3 and the sub radiator 2 on the front side of the vehicle, which is the upstream side of the air-cooled first radiator, it is possible to cool the refrigerant with the air flow before being warmed by another heat exchanger. Thus, the cooling efficiency is improved.

  The present invention has been described based on the above embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and is included in the present invention even when there is a design change or the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. .

  For example, in the first embodiment, the subcool condenser 3 and the sub radiator 2 are arranged on the vehicle front side, which is the upstream side of the air cooling of the fourth heat radiator, but at least one of the sub cool condenser 3 and the sub radiator 2 is air cooled. Even if it arrange | positions in the vehicle front side which is the ventilation upstream of a 4th heat exchanger, the cooling efficiency of a refrigerant | coolant can be improved.

Further, the liquid tank 5 may be disposed between the sub radiator 2 and the expander 6.
In addition, the compressor 8 is not restricted to the thing of Example 1, You may use another type.

In the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the hybrid electric vehicle but can be applied to other vehicle types such as an electric vehicle and a gasoline engine vehicle.
In the case of an electric vehicle, the main radiator 4 is not necessary. Therefore, only other heat exchangers will be used. In this case, the entire composite heat exchanger can be made smaller, so it is desirable to secure a large degree of freedom in the overall shape and arrangement of parts as in an electric vehicle. In case it is optimal.
Thus, in the present invention, the fourth heat exchanger (the main radiator in the first embodiment) is not necessarily required.
The high-power system cooling circuit 11 may be any circuit that cools other components with cooling water and cools the cooling water with an air-cooled heat exchanger.

1 Condenser (first heat exchanger)
2 Sub-radiator (second heat exchanger)
3 Subcool condenser (3rd heat exchanger: radiator)
4 Main radiator (4th heat exchanger)
5 Liquid tank (reservoir)
6 Inflator 7 Evaporator 8 Compressor 9 Electric Motor 10 Inverter 11 Cooling Circuit for Strong Electric System 12 Cooling Circuit for Cabin Air Conditioning

Claims (8)

A plurality of first heat exchangers, second heat exchangers and third heat exchangers are arranged,
The first heat exchanger is connected to a compressor at a position separated and separated from the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger, and the first medium output from the compressor is supplied to the second heat exchanger. Liquid cooled by the second medium from the heat exchanger,
The second heat exchanger air-cools the second medium output from the first heat exchanger,
The third heat exchanger is connected to the first heat exchanger and air-cools the first medium output from the first heat exchanger;
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that. The composite heat exchanger according to claim 1,
The first medium is a refrigerant, and the second medium is cooling water.
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that. The composite heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 2,
The first heat exchanger is a condenser;
The third heat exchanger is a supercooler;
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that. The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
On the upstream or downstream side of the flow of the first medium of the third heat exchanger, a reservoir for the first medium is connected and arranged.
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that. The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The third heat exchanger is a radiator.
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that. The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
At least one of the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger is disposed on the ventilation upstream side of the fourth heat exchanger that air-cools the third medium.
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that. The composite heat exchanger according to claim 6,
The fourth heat exchanger is a main radiator;
The third medium is cooling water;
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that. The composite heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The composite heat exchanger is mounted on a hybrid electric vehicle.
A composite heat exchanger characterized by that.

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