BATTERY COOLING APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

[0001] The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application Number 10-2010-0093073 filed Sep. 27, 2010, the entire contents of which application are incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a battery cooling apparatus for a vehicle and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a technology of cooling a batter mounted in a vehicle to supply electricity for driving the vehicle and heating the inside of the vehicle by using heat from the cooling process.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Recently, vehicles have been equipped with electric motors supplying at least a portion of driving force for the vehicles and batteries for operating the electric motors.

[0006] The batteries generates heat in charging or discharging and a PE device including an inverter and a converter connected to the battery to control electricity from/to the battery also generate heat in the operation, and the heat from them should be removed by appropriate devices.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional cooling apparatus for a battery 500 and a PE device 502 of a vehicle. The battery 500 and the PE device 502 are connected in series such that air passing through the battery 500 from a blower 504 can be discharged outside after sequentially cooling the PE device 502.

[0008] A valve 506 is disposed at the downstream of the PE device 502 to select whether to circulate the air discharged after cooling into the interior in order to heat the interior, or to intactly discharge the air, and an electric heater 508 is provided to ensure heating by applying additional heat when heating the interior.

[0009] The battery cooling apparatus operating with the configuration described above, however, has difficulty in sufficiently satisfying appropriate cooling conditions required by the battery 500 and the PE device 502, because the battery 500 and the PE device 502 are connected in series and sequentially cooled. Further, harmful substances may be supplied to the interior when a leakage is generated in the battery 500 when heating the interior.

[0010] The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0011] In one aspect, the present invention provides a battery cooling apparatus for a vehicle comprising a battery mounted in a first line through which cooling air can pass and a PE device mounted in a second line through which cooling air can pass, in which the first line and the second line are connected in parallel.

[0012] An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a battery cooling apparatus for a vehicle, which includes a battery and a PE device which are mounted in isolated spaces, respectively; an intake duct provided to separately supply air from the interior of the vehicle to the battery and the PE device; a discharge duct provided to discharge the air passing through the battery from the intake duct to the outside; a PE discharge duct discharging the air passing through the PE device from the intake duct into the interior of the vehicle or the outside; a first valve provided in the intake duct separately supplying the air from the interior of the vehicle to the battery and the PE device; and a second valve provided in the PE discharge duct and adjusting the air passing through the PE device to be discharged to the interior of the vehicle or the outside.

[0013] In another aspect, the present invention provides a control method of a battery cooling apparatus, which comprises: a second valve control step that determines whether to supply air cooling the PE device to the interior or discharge the air to the outside of a vehicle, by comparing the current interior temperature with required interior temperature and then controls the second valve on the basis of the determination; a heating-required first valve control step that determines whether to supply the air sucked from the interior of the vehicle only to the PE device, supply only to the battery, or supply to both of the PE device and the battery, by comparing the current PE device temperature with required PE device temperature and comparing the current battery temperature with required battery temperature, if it is determined at the second valve control step that the current interior temperature is lower than the required interior temperature; and a non-heating-required first valve control step that determines whether to supply the air sucked from the interior of the vehicle only to the PE device, supply only to the battery, or supply to both of the PE device and the battery, by comparing the current PE device temperature with the required PE device temperature and comparing the current battery temperature with the required battery temperature, if it is determined at the second valve control step the current interior temperature is not lower than the required interior temperature.

[0014] According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to implement the optimal cooling function appropriate to cooling properties of each device and preclude harmful substances from flowing into the interior due to leakage of a battery in heating the interior, because it is possible to individually cool a battery and a PE device.

[0015] The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description of the Invention, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

[0022] It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.

[0023] In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

[0024] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0025] A battery cooling apparatus for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. The apparatus includes a battery 1, a PE device 3, an intake duct 5, a discharge duct 7, a PE discharge duct 9, a first valve 11, and a second valve 13. The battery 1 and PE device 3 are equipped in isolated spaces, respectively. The intake duct 5 is provided to separately supply air from the interior of the vehicle to the battery 1 and the PE device 3. The discharge duct 7 is provided to discharge the air passing through the battery 1 from the intake duct 5 to the outside. The PE discharge duct 9 discharges the air passing through the PE device 3 from the intake duct 5 into the interior of the vehicle or the outside. The first valve 11 is provided in the intake duct 5 for separately supplying the air from the interior of the vehicle to the battery 1 and the PE device 3. The second valve 13 is provided in the PE discharge duct 9 for adjusting the air passing through the PE device 3 to be discharged to the interior of the vehicle or the outside.

[0026] That is, the air for cooling the battery 1 and the air for cooling the PE device 3 are separately supplied to cool the battery 1 and the PE device 3 and the interior is heated only by the air cooing the PE device 3, such that it is possible to structurally prevent harmful substances from flowing into the interior due to leakage of the battery 1.

[0027] A blower 15 is disposed in the intake duct 5 to suck the air from the interior of the vehicle and send the air to the battery 1 and the PE device 3. The first valve 11 is disposed at the downstream of the blower 15 and the intake duct 5 is divided into a battery supply duct 17 supplying air to the battery 1 and a PE supply duct 19 supplying air to the PE device 3, at the position where the first valve 11 is disposed.

[0028] The PE discharge duct 9 is divided into an interior heating duct 21 supplying air to the interior of the vehicle and an external connecting duct 23 connected to the discharge duct 7 to discharge the air to the outside, at the position where the second valve 13 is disposed.

[0029] Therefore, the air discharged through the interior heating duct 21 contributes to heating the interior and the air sent to the external connecting duct 23 is discharged to the outside through the discharge duct 7.

[0030] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, an electric heater 25 for heating the air is further disposed at the downstream of the second valve 13 in the interior heating duct 21. The electric heater 25 can allow the air discharged after cooling the PE device 3 to be additionally heated and then discharged to the interior, when the temperature of the air is not enough to heat the interior.

[0031] A control method of the battery cooling apparatus described above is described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. The method includes a second valve control step (S100), a heating-required first valve control step (S200), and a non-heating-required first valve control step (S300).

[0032] The second valve control step comprises determining whether to supply air for cooling the PE device 3 to the interior or discharge the air to the outside of a vehicle by comparing the current interior temperature T_CABIN with required interior temperature T_REQ—CABIN and controlling the second valve 13 on the basis of the determination.

[0033] The heating-required first valve control step comprises, if it is determined at the second valve control step that the current interior temperature T_CABIN is lower than the required interior temperature T_REQ—CABIN, determining whether to supply the air sucked from the interior of the vehicle only to the PE device 3, supply only to the battery 1, or supply to both of the PE device 3 and the battery 1 by comparing current PE device temperature T_PE with required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and comparing current battery temperature T_BAT with required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT.

[0034] The non-heating-required first valve control step comprises, if it is determined at the second valve control step that the current interior temperature T_CABIN is not lower than the required interior temperature T_REQ—CABIN, determining whether to supply the air sucked from the interior of the vehicle only to the PE device 3, supply only to the battery 1, or supply to both of the PE device 3 and the battery 1 by comparing current PE device temperature T_PE with required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and comparing current battery temperature T_BAT with required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT.

[0035] In more detail, the second valve control step (S100) determines whether to supply the air passing through the PE device 3 to the interior through the interior heating duct 21 or discharge the air to the outside through the external connecting duct 23 and the discharge duct 7 by comparing the current interior temperature T_CABIN with required interior temperature T_REQ—CABIN and by controlling the second control valve 13 in accordance with whether the vehicle requires heating. The heating-required first valve control step (S200) and the non-heating-required first valve control step (S300) allow the first valve 11 to appropriately distribute the air from the intake duct 5 to the battery supply duct 17 and the PE supply duct 19 by comparing the current PE device temperature T_PE with required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and comparing current battery temperature T_BAT with required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT. Control is performed to determine whether to operate the blower 15 in the heating-required first valve control step (S200) and the non-heating-required first valve control step (S300).

[0036] At the second valve control step (S100), if it is determined that the current interior temperature T_CABIN is lower than the required interior temperature T_REQ—CABIN, the air that has cooled the PE device 3 is supplied for heating into the interior heating duct 21 by controlling the second valve 13. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current interior temperature T_CABIN is not lower than the required interior temperature T_REQ—CABIN, the air that has cooled the PE device 3 is supplied to the external connecting duct 23.

[0037] At the heating-required first valve control step (S200), if it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and the current battery temperature T_BAT is higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air to both of the battery supply duct 17 and the PE supply duct 19, such that both of the battery 1 and the PE device 3 are cooled and the air that has cooled the battery 1 is discharged outside through the discharge duct 7 while the air that has cooled the PE device 3 is discharged to the interior through the interior heating duct 21 to contribute to heating. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and the current battery temperature T_BAT is not higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air only to the PE supply duct 19, such that only the PE device 3 is cooled and the air is supplied to the interior for heating.

[0038] If it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is not higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE, the current battery temperature T_BAT is higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, and the current PE device temperature T_PE is higher than the current interior temperature T_CABIN, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air to both of the battery supply duct 17 and the PE supply duct 19, such that the battery 1 is cooled and the air passing through the PE device 3 is supplied to the interior for heating. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is not higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE, the current battery temperature T_BAT is higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, and the current PE device temperature T_PE is not higher than the current interior temperature T_CABIN, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air only to the battery supply duct 17, such that only the battery 1 is cooled.

[0039] If it is determined that that the current PE device temperature T_PE is not higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE, the current battery temperature T_BAT is not higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, and the current PE device temperature T_PE is higher than the current interior temperature T_CABIN, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air only to the PE supply duct 19, such that the air passing through the PE device 3 is used to heat the interior. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is not higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE, the current battery temperature T_BAT is not higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, and the current PE device temperature T_PE is not higher than the current interior temperature T_CABIN, the blower 15 is stopped.

[0040] At the non-heating-required first valve control step (S300), if it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and the current battery temperature T_BAT is higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air to both of the battery supply duct 17 and the PE supply duct 19, such that both of the battery 1 and the PE device 3 are cooled, and the air that has cooled the battery 1 and the PE device 3 is discharged outside. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and the current battery temperature T_BAT is not higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air only to the PE supply duct 19, such that only the PE device 3 is cooled and the air that has cooled the PE device is discharged outside sequentially through the external connecting duct 23 and the discharge duct 7. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current PE device temperature T_PE is not higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and the current battery temperature T_BAT is higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, the blower 15 is operated and the first valve 11 is controlled to send air only to the battery supply duct 17, such that only the battery 1 is cooled and the air that has cooled the battery is discharged outside through the discharge duct 7. On the other hand, if it is determined that the PE current temperature T_PE is not higher than the required PE device temperature T_REQ—PE and the current battery temperature T_BAT is not higher than the required battery temperature T_REQ—BAT, the blower 15 is stopped.

[0041] The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.