CN-110065361-B - Heat pump system with multi-way position valve

CN110065361BCN 110065361 BCN110065361 BCN 110065361BCN-110065361-B

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a "heat pump system with a multi-way position valve". A vehicle heat pump system is provided that includes a thermal loop, an eight-way valve, and a controller. The thermal loop includes a compressor, a first portion, and a second portion. The first portion includes an external heat exchanger. The second portion includes a cabin heat exchanger. The eight-way valve is located downstream of the compressor and has a first position in which refrigerant flows in the portion in the cooling mode and a second position in which refrigerant flows in the portion in the heating mode. The controller switches the eight-way valve between the first position and the second position. The exterior heat exchanger operates as a condenser in the cooling mode and the eight-way valve directs refrigerant flow from the exterior heat exchanger to the cabin heat exchanger.

Inventors

HE JING
Loren John Lomel
WILLIAM STEWART JOHNSTON
Angelo Patty

Assignees

福特全球技术公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20190123
Priority Date: 20180123

Claims (12)

1. A vehicle heat pump system, the vehicle heat pump system comprising: a thermal loop including a compressor; a first thermal portion of a thermal loop, the first thermal portion comprising an external heat exchanger; A second thermal portion of the thermal loop, the second thermal portion comprising a cabin heat exchanger; An eight-way valve downstream of the compressor and having a first position in which refrigerant flows within the first and second hot portions in a cooling mode and a second position in which refrigerant flows within the first and second hot portions in a heating mode; a controller for switching the eight-way valve between the first position and the second position; expansion means for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant stream; a flash tank downstream of the expansion device to separate a vapor-liquid mixture, and A control valve downstream of the flash tank, Wherein the external heat exchanger operates as a condenser in the cooling mode and the eight-way valve directs refrigerant flow from the external heat exchanger to the cabin heat exchanger, and wherein the external heat exchanger operates as an evaporator in the heating mode and the eight-way valve directs refrigerant flow from the cabin heat exchanger to the external heat exchanger, wherein the flash tank is arranged with the eight-way valve to substantially remove vapor from the refrigerant such that the refrigerant is substantially entirely liquid when it enters the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode or enters the external heat exchanger in the heating mode, and the pressure of the refrigerant exiting the flash tank and the eight-way valve is balanced by the control valve located downstream of the flash tank.
2. The vehicle heat pump system of claim 1 further comprising an air side heater, wherein the air side heater operates in the heating mode to supplement heat for delivery to a cabin or in the dehumidification and reheat modes to reheat dehumidified air to a predetermined temperature when a sensor detects a temperature below a predetermined threshold.
3. The vehicle heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle heat pump system further comprises an internal heat exchanger, the internal heat exchanger being located upstream of the expansion device.
4. A vehicle heat pump system as set forth in claim 3 wherein said eight-way valve is disposed with said first and second thermal portions to affect a transition phase state of said refrigerant, wherein components of said first and second thermal portions are disposed with each other to affect a transition phase state of said refrigerant, wherein said refrigerant is in liquid or liquid-vapor mixture when flowing to said cabin heat exchanger in said cooling mode and said refrigerant is in vapor form when flowing to said cabin heat exchanger in said heating mode.
5. The vehicle heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the refrigerant is one of R134a, R1234yf, R152a, R410A, hydrocarbon, ammonia, and R744.
6. The vehicle heat pump system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle heat pump system comprises only two heat exchangers and only one expansion device.
7. A vehicle heat pump system, the vehicle heat pump system comprising: A cabin heat exchanger and an exterior heat exchanger; A multi-position valve having a first position and a second position; A compressor located upstream of the multi-position valve and configured to increase refrigerant pressure through the exterior heat exchanger in a cooling mode defining a first position of the multi-position valve and to increase refrigerant pressure through the cabin heat exchanger in a heating mode defining a second position of the multi-position valve; expansion means for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant stream; a flash tank downstream of the expansion device to separate a vapor-liquid mixture, and A control valve downstream of the flash tank, Wherein the compressor and the multi-position valve are arranged such that refrigerant pressure is substantially the same in the cooling mode and the heating mode, wherein the flash tank is arranged with the multi-position valve to substantially remove vapor from the refrigerant such that when refrigerant enters the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode or the exterior heat exchanger in the heating mode, the refrigerant is substantially entirely liquid and the pressure of the refrigerant exiting the flash tank and the multi-position valve is balanced by the control valve downstream of the flash tank.
8. The vehicle heat pump system of claim 7 wherein the multi-position valve is disposed with the compressor and the cabin heat exchanger and the external heat exchanger to facilitate phase shifting of refrigerant as it flows through the cabin heat exchanger and the external heat exchanger, and the expansion device is for converting refrigerant to a mixture of vapor and liquid such that the refrigerant is a mixture of vapor and liquid as it flows to the flash tank.
9. The vehicle heat pump system of claim 7 further comprising a sensor, a controller and an air side heater in fluid communication with the cabin heat exchanger, wherein the controller is configured to activate the air side heater to provide supplemental heat to the cabin in response to the sensor detecting a temperature below a predetermined threshold.
10. The vehicle heat pump system of claim 7 wherein the refrigerant associated with the refrigerant pressure is one of R134a, R1234yf, R152a, R410A, hydrocarbon, ammonia, and R744.
11. The system of claim 7, the vehicle heat pump system comprising only two heat exchangers and only one expansion device.
12. A vehicle heat pump system, the vehicle heat pump system comprising: A pair of conduit portions of the thermal loop and components in fluid communication with each other, including only one interior heat exchanger, a compressor, an exterior heat exchanger, a cabin heat exchanger, only one expansion device, a flash tank, only one control valve and an eight-way valve, the eight-way valve being disposed within the pair of conduit portions to switch between a first position in a cooling mode and a second position in a heating mode, the flash tank being downstream of the only one expansion device to separate a vapor-liquid mixture, the eight-way valve being downstream of the compressor, the only one control valve being downstream of the flash tank, Wherein refrigerant flows directly from the exterior heat exchanger to the interior heat exchanger in the cooling mode, and the refrigerant flowing from the exterior heat exchanger in the heating mode is pressure balanced by the only one control valve to the interior heat exchanger in the heating mode, Wherein the flash tank is arranged with the eight-way valve to substantially remove vapor from the refrigerant such that the refrigerant is substantially completely liquid when it enters the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode or enters the external heat exchanger in the heating mode.

Description

Heat pump system with multi-way position valve Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a heat pump system for helping to manage thermal conditions of a vehicle. Background Air-to-air heat pump systems may require complex control systems, have high costs due to the additional hardware required, and may operate with an unbalanced charge in cooling and heating modes due to the different sizes of the indoor and outdoor condensers. Disclosure of Invention A vehicle heat pump system includes a thermal loop, an eight-way valve, and a controller. The thermal loop includes a compressor, a first portion, and a second portion. The first portion includes an external heat exchanger. The second portion includes a cabin heat exchanger. The eight-way valve is located downstream of the compressor and has a first position in which refrigerant flows in the portion in the cooling mode and a second position in which refrigerant flows in the portion in the heating mode. The controller switches the eight-way valve between the first position and the second position. The exterior heat exchanger operates as a condenser in the cooling mode and the eight-way valve directs refrigerant flow from the exterior heat exchanger to the cabin heat exchanger. The exterior heat exchanger operates as an evaporator in a heating mode and the eight-way valve directs the flow of refrigerant from the cabin heat exchanger to the exterior heat exchanger. The system may also include an air side heater. The system may further include an air side heater that supplements heat for delivery to the cabin in a heating mode or re-heats dehumidified air to a predetermined temperature in a dehumidification and re-heating mode when the sensor detects a temperature below a predetermined threshold. The system may also include a mixing door to control the temperature of the air supplied to the cabin. The section may further include an expansion device for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant stream, an internal heat exchanger located upstream of the expansion device, a flash tank located downstream of the expansion device to separate the vapor-liquid mixture, and a control valve located downstream of the flash tank to equalize the pressure of the refrigerant exiting the flash tank and the eight-way valve. The eight-way valve may include a valve housing having eight ports. The eight-way valve may be arranged with the first portion and the second portion to affect a transition phase state of the refrigerant, wherein the components of the portions are arranged with each other to affect the transition phase state of the refrigerant, wherein the refrigerant is in the form of a liquid or liquid-vapor mixture when flowing to the cabin heat exchanger in the cooling mode and in the form of a vapor when flowing to the cabin heat exchanger in the heating mode. The refrigerant may be one of R134a, R1234yf, R152a, R410A, hydrocarbon, ammonia, and R744. The second portion of the thermal loop may also include a flash tank arranged with an eight-way valve to substantially remove vapor from the refrigerant such that the refrigerant is substantially completely liquid when entering the cabin heat exchanger in a cooling mode or entering the exterior heat exchanger in a heating mode. The thermal loop may comprise only two heat exchangers and only one expansion device. A vehicle heat pump system includes a compressor configured to increase refrigerant pressure through an exterior heat exchanger in a cooling mode defining a first position of a multi-position valve and to increase refrigerant pressure through a cabin heat exchanger in a heating mode defining a second position of the multi-position valve. The compressor and the multi-position valve are arranged such that the refrigerant pressure is substantially the same in both the cooling mode and the heating mode. The system may include an expansion device, a flash tank, and a control valve arranged with each other to balance the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into and out of the heat exchanger. The system may include a sensor, a controller, and an air side heater in fluid communication with the cabin heat exchanger. The controller may be programmed to activate the air side heater to provide supplemental heat to the cabin in response to the sensor detecting a temperature below a predetermined threshold. The refrigerant associated with the refrigerant pressure may be one of R134a, R1234yf, R152a, R410A, hydrocarbon, ammonia, and R744. The flash tank may be arranged with a multi-position valve such that the refrigerant is substantially completely liquid when entering the cabin heat exchanger in a cooling mode. The system may comprise only two heat exchangers and only one expansion device. The vehicle heat pump system includes a pair of conduit portions of a thermal loop and components in fluid communication with each other, including only one interior heat exchanger, a compressor, an exterior heat exchanger, a cabin heat e