Heat exchanger and method for controlling or regulating the heat exchanger

Abstract

A heat exchanger, in particular a chiller, includes a heat exchanger block with a first fluid duct for a refrigerant and a second fluid duct for a coolant, an inlet and an outlet for the refrigerant, which are formed at a connecting flange and which are fluidically connected to the first fluid duct, a sensor for detecting a measured variable of the refrigerant, and an electronic expansion valve arranged in the inlet including an integrated regulating unit, wherein the expansion valve regulates a flow rate of the refrigerant in the inlet as a function of the detected measured variable. The sensor and the regulating unit are connected via a cable to transfer data. A port is formed at the expansion valve. The cable is further secured releasably or non-releasably in the respective port at the expansion valve. In addition, a method for controlling or regulating the heat exchanger is provided.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger comprising: a heat exchanger block, which has a first fluid duct for a refrigerant and a second fluid duct for a coolant; an inlet and an outlet for the refrigerant, which are formed at a connecting flange of the heat exchanger and which are fluidically connected to the first fluid duct; at least one sensor for detecting at least one variable of the refrigerant; an electronic expansion valve arranged in the inlet comprising an integrated control circuit, wherein the expansion valve regulates a flow rate of the refrigerant in the inlet as a function of the at least one detected variable, wherein the at least one sensor and the integrated control circuit of the expansion valve are connected via a first cable to transfer data, wherein at least one port is formed at the expansion valve, wherein the first cable is secured releasably or non-releasably in a respective port at the expansion valve, wherein the integrated control circuit is further connected to an external control system via a second cable to transfer data, wherein the heat exchanger is configured to: detect at least one variable of the refrigerant with the at least one sensor; transmit the detected variable via the first cable to the integrated control circuit of the expansion valve; and control or regulate the expansion valve with the integrated control circuit as a function of the received variable of the sensor, wherein the expansion valve regulates a flow rate of the refrigerant in the inlet, and wherein the heat exchanger is controlled or regulated in first and second modes, and in the second mode, the integrated control circuit: processes the detected variable; transfers the processed variable to the external control system via the second cable; and in the second mode, after the processed variable has been received, the external control system further processes the processed variable and controls or regulates the expansion valve as a function thereof.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: first and second sensors are provided in the heat exchanger, the first sensor is arranged at the inlet of the heat exchanger and the second sensor is arranged at the outlet of the heat exchanger, and the first and second sensors are temperature sensors and the variable detected by the first sensor is the temperature of the refrigerant at the inlet of the heat exchanger and the variable detected by the second sensor is the temperature of the refrigerant at the outlet of the heat exchanger.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: only one sensor, which is arranged at the outlet of the heat exchanger, is provided in the heat exchanger, and that the one sensor is a combined pressure-temperature sensor and detects two variables, and one detected variable is a temperature of the refrigerant, and the other detected variable is a pressure of the refrigerant.

4. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: a first-sensor is provided in the heat exchanger and is arranged at the outlet of the heat exchanger, the first sensor is a temperature sensor and the detected variable is the temperature of the refrigerant, in addition, an external sensor is provided and is arranged on a suction side in a refrigerant circuit, which comprises the heat exchanger, and the external sensor is a pressure sensor and the detected variable is a pressure of the refrigerant.

5. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: the heat exchanger is controlled or regulated in a first mode, and in the first mode, the integrated control circuit transfers the detected variable, after the detected variable has been received, to the external control system without being processed, and in the first mode, the external control system processes the unprocessed variable, after the detected variable has been received, and controls or regulates the expansion valve as a function thereof.

6. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: the heat exchanger is controlled or regulated in the first and second modes and in a third mode, in the third mode, the integrated control circuit processes the detected variable, after the detected variable has been received and controls or regulates the expansion valve as a function thereof, without including the external control system.

7. The heat exchanger according to claim 6, wherein: in the third mode, the heat exchanger is controlled or regulated in a high-load sub mode or in an average-load sub mode or in a weak-load sub mode, the high-load sub mode corresponds to a high performance of the heat exchanger, the average-load sub mode corresponds to an average performance of the heat exchanger, and the weak-load sub mode corresponds to a low performance of the heat exchanger.

8. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: two variables of the refrigerant are detected with two sensors of the heat exchanger, the one sensor detects a temperature of the refrigerant at the inlet, and the other sensor detects the temperature of the refrigerant at the outlet of the heat exchanger and transmit them to the integrated control circuit.

9. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: two variables of the refrigerant are detected with a sole sensor of the heat exchanger, the sole sensor being arranged at the outlet of the heat exchanger detects a temperature of the refrigerant and a pressure of the refrigerant and transmits the temperature of the refrigerant and the pressure of the refrigerant to the integrated control circuit.

10. The heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein: first and second variables of the refrigerant are detected with a sole sensor of the heat exchanger and with an external sensor, the first variable is detected with the sole sensor of the heat exchanger and the second variable is detected with the external sensor, the sole sensor is arranged at the outlet of the heat exchanger detects a temperature and transmits the temperature to the integrated control circuit, and on a suction side, the external sensor detects a pressure in a refrigerant circuit comprising the heat exchanger and transmits the detected variable directly to the external control system for further processing.

11. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is a chiller.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a view of a heat exchanger which is controlled or regulated in a first or in a second mode of a method according to a first exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a view of the heat exchanger which is controlled or regulated in a third mode of the method according to the first exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a view of the heat exchanger which is controlled or regulated in the first or in the second mode of the method according to a second exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a view of the heat exchanger which is controlled or regulated in a third mode of the method according to the second exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a view of the heat exchanger which is controlled or regulated in the first or in the second mode of the method according a third exemplary embodiment of to the disclosure;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a view of the heat exchanger according to the second or third exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; and

(8) FIG. 7 shows a diagram for several sub modes within the third mode.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

(9) Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in more detail in the following description, whereby identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar or functionally identical components.

(10) FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a view of a heat exchanger 1—here a chiller 2—according to a first embodiment of the disclosure. The heat exchanger 1 has a heat exchanger block 3, which includes a first fluid duct 4 for a refrigerant and a second fluid duct 5 for a coolant. The heat exchanger 1 further has an inlet 6a and an outlet 6b for the refrigerant, which are formed at a connecting flange 7 of the heat exchanger 1 and are fluidically connected to the first fluid duct 4. The refrigerant can flow into the first fluid duct 4 and thus into the heat exchanger block 3 via the inlet 6a, and can flow out of the first fluid duct 4 and thus out of the heat exchanger block 3 via the outlet 6b, as suggested with arrows. In addition, the heat exchanger 1 has an input 8a and an output 8b for the coolant—show in FIG. 6—which are fluidically connected to the second fluid duct 5. The coolant can then flow back into the second fluid duct 5 and thus into the heat exchanger block 3 via the input 8a, and can flow out of the second fluid duct 5 and thus out of the heat exchanger block 3 via the output 8b. The refrigerant and the coolant can exchange heat in the heat exchanger block 3 of the heat exchanger 1. The heat exchanger 1 has an electronic expansion valve 9 including an integrated regulating unit 12, which is arranged in the inlet 6a.

(11) In the first exemplary embodiment, the heat exchanger 1 has two sensors 10 for detecting two measured variables. The sensors 10 are temperature sensors 11a and 11b, which are each arranged in the inlet 6a and in the outlet 6b and which detect temperature of the refrigerant as measured variable. The expansion valve 9 then regulates a flow rate of the refrigerant in the inlet 6a as a function of the detected temperatures at the inlet 6a and at the outlet 6b. The two sensors 10 are connected to the regulating unit 12 via a cable 13 so as to transfer data and in a releasable manner, for the purpose of which a port 14 for the cable 13 is provided at the expansion valve 9. In this exemplary embodiment, only one port 14 is provided for the cable 13, which connects the two sensors 10 together with the regulating unit 12 so as to transfer data. However, one port 14 can in each case be provided for each of the sensors 10 at the expansion valve 9 and they can then be connected to the regulating unit 12 via separate cables so as to transfer data. Further ports can further also be provided at the expansion valve. The heat exchanger 1 in the first exemplary embodiment can be controlled or regulated in three modes with a method 17 according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

(12) With reference to FIG. 1, a first mode 17a and a second mode 17b of the method 17 will be described in more detail below. The detected measured variables—here temperature of the refrigerant at the inlet 6a and at the outlet 6b—are first transmitted to the regulating unit 12 via the cable 13, as indicated with arrows. The control unit 12 or the expansion valve 9, respectively, is connected via a LIN system 15 with a corresponding LIN connection 19 to the expansion valve 9 with an external control system 16 so as to transfer data. If the heat exchanger 1 is operated in the first mode 17a, the detected measured variables are transferred via the LIN system 15 to the control system 16, after being received in the regulating unit 12, without being processed. If the heat exchanger 1 is operated in the second mode 17b, the detected measured variables are first processed after being received in the regulating unit 12 and are then transferred to the control system 16 via the LIN system 15. The control system 16 then processes the received measured variables in both modes 17a and 17b, and controls or regulates the expansion valve 9 as a function thereof. The controlling or regulating—or a transfer of control or regulating signals, respectively—then takes place via the LIN system 15. The communication between the external control system 16 and the expansion valve 9 via the LIN system 15 is indicated with arrows.

(13) With reference to FIG. 2, a third mode 17c of the method 17 will be described in more detail below. The detected measured variables—here temperature of the refrigerant at the inlet 6a and at the outlet 6b—are transmitted to the regulating unit 12 via the cable 13, as suggested with arrows. The detected measured variables are processed in the regulating unit 12, and the expansion valve 9 is controlled or regulated by the regulating unit 12 as a function thereof. Even though the regulating unit 12 or the expansion valve 9, respectively, can be connected to the external control system 16 via a LIN system 15 so as to transfer data, a data transfer does not take place. This is indicated with a broken line. Within the third mode 17c, the heat exchanger 1 can be controlled or regulated in one of the three sub modes. The sub modes are shown in FIG. 7.

(14) FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show views of the heat exchanger 1 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. The differences between the second exemplary embodiment and the first exemplary embodiment will be discussed separately below. Apart from that, the two exemplary embodiments are consistent. In deviation from the first exemplary embodiment, the heat exchanger 1 has the sole sensor 10 here, which is a combined pressure-temperature sensor 11c. The pressure-temperature sensor 11c is arranged at the outlet 6b of the heat exchanger 1 and detects two measured variables—temperature and pressure of the refrigerant. The sensor 10 then transmits the detected measured variables to the regulating unit 12 via the cable 13, as suggested with arrows.

(15) With reference to FIG. 3, the heat exchanger 1 in the second exemplary embodiment can be controlled or regulated in the first mode 17a and in the second mode 17b of the method. This takes place analogously to the first exemplary embodiment of the heat exchanger 1, as described with reference to FIG. 1. In deviation, the temperature and the pressure are used as measured variables here to control or regulate the expansion valve 9. With reference to FIG. 4, the heat exchanger 1 in the second exemplary embodiment can also be controlled or regulated in the third mode 17c of the method 17. This takes place analogously to the first exemplary embodiment of the heat exchanger 1, as described with reference to FIG. 2. In deviation, the temperature and the pressure are used as measured variables here to control or regulate the expansion valve 9. The heat exchanger 1 can be controlled and regulated in one of the three sub modes within the third mode 17c. The sub modes are shown in FIG. 7.

(16) FIG. 5 shows a view of the heat exchanger 1 according to a third exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. The differences between the third exemplary embodiment and the first exemplary embodiment will be discussed separately below. Apart from that, the two exemplary embodiments are consistent. In deviation from the first exemplary embodiment, the heat exchanger 1 has the sole sensor 10 here, which is the temperature sensor 11b here. The temperature sensor 11b is arranged at the outlet 6b of the heat exchanger 1 and detects temperature of the refrigerant as measured variable. An external sensor 18 is further provided, which is a pressure sensor 11d. The external sensor 18 is thereby arranged on the suction side in a refrigerant circuit 20, which includes the heat exchanger, and detects pressure of the refrigerant as measured variable.

(17) The heat exchanger 1 in the third exemplary embodiment can only be controlled or regulated in the first mode 17a or in the second mode 17b of the method 17. The sensor 10 thereby transmits the detected measured variable to the regulating unit 12 via the cable 13, as indicated with arrows. If the heat exchanger 1 is operated in the first mode 17a, the detected measured variable is transferred to the control system 16 via the LIN system 15 without being processed after being received in the regulating unit 12. If the heat exchanger 1 is operated in the second mode 17b, the detected measured variable is first processed after being received in the regulating unit 12 and is then transferred to the control system 16 via the LIN system 15. In both modes 17a and 17b, the external sensor 18 transmits the detected measured variable directly to the external control system 16, as indicated with the arrow. The control system 16 then processes the received measured variables in both modes 17a and 17b and controls or regulates the expansion valve 9 as a function thereof. The communication between the control system 16 and the regulating unit 12 takes place via the LIN system 15, as guested with arrows.

(18) FIG. 6 shows a view of the heat exchanger 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. If the sensor 10 at the outlet 6b is the pressure-temperature sensor 11c, the exemplary embodiment shown here corresponds to the heat exchanger 1 in the second exemplary embodiment. If the sensor 10 at the outlet 6b is the temperature sensor 11b, the exemplary embodiment shown here corresponds to the heat exchanger 1 in the third exemplary embodiment. As shown here, the heat exchanger 1 has the input 8a and the output 8b, which are fluidically connected to the second fluid duct 5. The coolant flows into the second fluid duct 5 and thus into the heat exchanger block 3 via the input 8a, and the coolant flows out of the second fluid duct 5 and thus out of the heat exchanger block 3 via the output 8b. The LIN connection 19 and the port 14, which are formed at the expansion valve 9 or at a housing 20, respectively, of the expansion valve 9, are also shown here. The regulating unit 12 can be connected to the control system 16 via the LIN connection 19 of the expansion valve 9 and can be connected to the sensor 10 via the port 14 so as to transfer data. A cable 13 between the port 14 and the sensor 10 is not illustrated here for the sake of clarity.

(19) A diagram is shown in FIG. 7, in which three possible sub modes within the third mode 17c are identified. In the third mode 17a, the heat exchanger 1 can be controlled or regulated in a high-load sub mode, in an average-load sub mode, or in a weak-load sub mode. The high-load sub mode corresponds to a high performance of the heat exchanger 1, which corresponds to a small overheating of typically approximately 0-3 K and the so-called “wet setting”. The average-load sub mode corresponds to an average performance, which corresponds to an average overheating of typically approximately 4-7 K and the so-called “average setting”. The average load sub mode corresponds to a standard operation of the heat exchanger 1. The weak-load sub mode corresponds to a low performance, which corresponds to a high overheating of approximately 8-12 K and the so-called “dry setting”. The weak-load sub mode corresponds to a turn-on mode.

(20) Here, the heat exchanger 1 is the chiller 2, which can be used, for example, to cool a traction battery in an electrically operated vehicle. The chiller 2 is then fluidically integrated into the refrigerant circuit of an air-conditioning system of the vehicle and into the coolant circuit of the vehicle. The control system 16 is then an air-conditioning control system, which controls or regulates the chiller 2 in the first mode 17a and in the second mode 17b of the method 17. The external sensor 18 or the pressure sensor 11d, respectively, can be a part of the air-conditioning system.

(21) It is understood that the foregoing description is that of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined in the appended claims.